True Love Will Find You In The End
by InvisiMeg
Summary: Rachel sets out to discover the identity of her true love after she's told by a fortune teller that the love of her life is in New Directions.
1. Chapter 1

**And here's my new story. This isn't going to be nearly as long as most of my other stories, but it's an idea I've had in my head for several years, so I thought I would write it before I started on something longer. Thanks to totheseaandbackagain for the title and for the edit.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 <strong>

"Mr. Schue," Rachel said, thrusting her hand into the air.

"Ah, yes, Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I would like to share my ideas about this year's competitions," Rachel stated. "I've put together a small presentation that I think will guarantee us a win at Nationals, and—"

"That's an interesting idea, but Sectionals are months away," Mr. Schue interrupted.

"It's never too soon to begin thinking about it," Rachel insisted.

"Maybe in a couple months, but right now I think we should just have some fun," Mr. Schue said. "Finn, you said you know of someone who might be interested in joining us this year?"

"Yeah, there's this new kid on the football team," Finn said with a proud grin. "I've talked to him about joining Glee and I think he's interested."

"See, guys, that is what I'm talking about!" Mr. Schue said. "You need to take the initiative like Finn has. We're down a few members and we need to find people who are interested. Do what Finn has and find those people! I know they're out there and they're just waiting for that push that they need."

"I actually addressed this in my presentation," Rachel said, putting her hand back into the air.

"That's great, Rachel, but we need action," Mr. Schue replied.

Rachel sighed to herself as she slumped down in her chair. Mr. Schue was never going to listen to her suggestions; if Finn came up with them, though, he would think they were the greatest thing he'd ever heard. She didn't understand why their teacher didn't like her. Out of everyone in the room, she would expect better from a teacher. Instead, he was no better than her fellow Glee members who called her names and threw slushies in her face. He was just more subtle about it than some of the rest.

"Your assignment for next week is to find us two new members," he announced. "Talk to your friends, talk to your teachers—sing in the halls if you have to. I want this school to know that we're not going anywhere and we _are_ going to bring home that Nationals trophy this year."

"Yeah, maybe if we can get the hobbit to shut her mouth and let someone else sing," Santana said, looking down at Rachel.

"Santana, I don't believe—"

"No one cares, troll," Santana said, holding up her hand.

"That is very rude, Santana," Rachel said, flipping her hair as she looked over her shoulder.

The Cheerio smirked at her, clearly about to respond, but then Quinn said, "Can we get on with this? Some of us would like to go home."

"Right," Mr. Schue replied when all eyes were on him again. "As I was saying, I want two new members by the end of next week. Preferably two members who can sing and dance, but we are the Glee Club, after all. Anyone who wants to join us is free to do so. I want this to be a welcoming environment, where everyone is free to be themselves."

Rachel scowled slightly. Mr. Schue always talked about people being free to be themselves, but it didn't seem to apply when it came to her. Anytime she said anything, one of the more popular students would always put her down. Usually Santana or sometimes Quinn. Even in a group of misfits, she still felt like the outsider. She thought dating Finn would increase her popularity, but it only brought his down. It was the major reason why Finn broke up with her over the summer. He didn't say so, but he didn't have to; she knew it was the real reason despite what he said.

"Alright, guys, does anyone have anything else they would like to sing?" Mr. Schue asked.

Rachel looked around, but no one said anything. She crossed her arms, unimpressed at the lack of effort from her fellow classmates. She had been the only one to participate in that week's assignment. She would have thought that with having the whole summer off, everyone would have come back refreshed and ready to go. But it seemed like this year was going to be just like the rest. She just hated being one of only a few to take this seriously, one of only a few to actually care about the club and always give it everything she had.

"Okay, if no one else has anything, you can go, but I want you all participating next week," Mr. Schue said as he picked up his briefcase from beside his stool. "I want to see you out there in the school performing. Show the rest of the student body just how awesome it is to be part of the glee club!"

Nearly everyone was out of their seats the moment he dismissed them. As Rachel was reaching for her bag, Santana kicked it on her way past, spilling some of the contents onto the linoleum floor. Rachel frowned at the back of her head, but didn't say anything. Santana could be quite mean when she wanted to be, and the last thing Rachel needed in her first week back was to be attacked by her. So, she knelt onto the ground and began reaching for her belongings.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked, kneeling down in front of her.

"I'm fine, Finn," Rachel answered.

"Let me help," Finn said, reaching for her tube of lip gloss.

"You don't have to help," Rachel stated. "You should go."

Finn hesitated, but then he handed over the lip gloss and stood up. As he left, she looked around to find that almost everyone else was already gone. The only other three people who remained were Kurt, Tina, and Quinn. Unfortunately, Kurt and Tina were in conversation and didn't seem to notice her, and Quinn was the last person she would expect to help her. So, with a sigh, she picked up the rest of her things by herself.

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><p>"What are you still doing here?" Kurt asked as he walked down the hall.<p>

"Well, I left, but then I realized I forgot my geometry book in my locker and Mr. Reynolds assigned us some homework for over the weekend," Rachel explained.

She grabbed her book from her locker and put it into her bag before double checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything else. She didn't want to have to come back again and she definitely didn't want to fall behind after only being back a week. As she was looking, she suddenly remembered that Mrs. Parker insinuated that they may have a pop quiz on Monday, so she grabbed her chemistry book as well, figuring it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Where's my phone?" Rachel asked herself as she looked into her bag. "I know it was in here." She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "It's probably somewhere on the choir room floor."

"Why would it be there?" Kurt asked.

"Santana," Rachel stated. "She kicked my bag earlier and a lot of things spilled out. I thought I picked up everything, but it must have fallen somewhere and I didn't notice it."

"When did this happen?" Kurt asked.

"As she was leaving," Rachel answered, shaking her head. "I thought this year was going to be different. I thought we had all bonded. We've been through so much together and I thought that meant something, but everything is exactly as it was before any of us ever joined Glee."

"That's not completely true," Kurt replied. "We're friends now."

"I guess," Rachel said. "But I'm still single, Tuesday I had to dodge a slushie on my way to lunch, and the Cheerios still seem like it's their mission to make my life as miserable as possible. As if it wasn't enough that—"

Rachel quickly shut her mouth. She wasn't going to bring up the adoption; it seemed too petty. She tried not to fault Quinn for giving Beth to Shelby, hurting her relationship with her mother even more. She sometimes wondered if Quinn had done it to purposefully hurt her, but she had yet to voice those feelings to anyone. Rachel hoped the other girl wouldn't do such a thing, but she sometimes had her doubts.

"Wasn't enough that what?" Kurt asked after a few moments.

"Nothing," Rachel replied. "So, how did your first week turn out?"

Kurt shrugged and said, "I was shoved against a locker twice, had my scarf thrown in a toilet, and I was threatened multiple times. You're not the only one who nothing has changed for.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Rachel said with a frown. "I know you hoped things would be better this year."

She and Kurt had bonded during the summer over their personal experiences with bullying. Kurt finally seemed to realize that he had a lot in common with Rachel—even if she knew he would never admit it—and Rachel felt like she could actually call him a friend now. They weren't best friends by any means, but he had made the summer a little less lonely for Rachel. And she certainly appreciated him being there for her after Finn had broken up with her.

"What are you doing now?" Kurt asked.

"I thought I would go home and work on a list of students who may be interested in joining the New Directions," Rachel stated.

"I was just asking Tina if she wanted to come with me to this new boutique on Main Street, but she said she's having dinner with Mike's family," Kurt said. "Maybe we could go together. A little retail therapy could be just what we need after a long, hard week of school. Not that what you're doing doesn't sound like a lot of fun."

"You want me to shop for clothes with you?" Rachel asked, looking at him skeptically.

"I promise no makeovers." Kurt huffed. "Are you ever going to let me forget that lapse in judgment? I have apologized and I think we should both move on."

"Fine," Rachel replied. "And, yes, I would love to go with you. Although, I do not appreciate the sarcasm. Mr. Schue has given us an assignment, and even if he doesn't take his job as leader of the Glee Club as seriously as he should, as captain, I am going to give it my all. And we really do need two more members or we'll have to forfeit and I refuse to go down without a fight."

"There's plenty of time to worry about that later," Kurt said, looping his arm through her. "Tonight, though, we're going to have fun."

"Alright," Rachel agreed. "But then I want us to join forces for next week's assignment. Everyone knows we're the two most talented singers in the club, and with us working together, we'll be unstoppable. We'll have two new members and then maybe Mr. Schue will finally have to listen to my ideas."

"Deal," Kurt replied.

Rachel smiled as she closed her locker and let Kurt lead her to the school's entrance. Maybe the first week of her junior year hadn't gone exactly as she'd hoped, but she was going shopping with a friend, and considering how her sophomore year started out, she would certainly take this over that any day. At least now she wasn't completely without friends and she had managed to avoid being slushied that week, which was an accomplishment for her.

"Oh!" Rachel said, halting in her tracks. "My phone is still in the choir room!"

"We can't forget that," Kurt said, turning them around.

"I hope it's still in one piece," Rachel remarked, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

* * *

><p>"Is that it?" Rachel asked. "How long has it been there?"<p>

"It opened last month," Kurt answered.

"I don't understand how I've never noticed it before," Rachel said. "My fathers and I just drove down Main Street yesterday on the way to dinner."

"I've seen you in a car," Kurt stated. "You were probably too busy singing to look out the window."

Rachel grinned and replied, "That is a very good possibility."

Regardless, the place looked nice and it seemed like something Rachel would have noticed. Of course, she had been so focused on the breakup and school beginning that she had obviously just overlooked it. It wouldn't be the first time she had been completely oblivious to something because she was so wrapped up in the things going on in her life. Her fathers often joked over the summer that she wouldn't notice if they were replaced by two other men. It was an exaggeration, but Rachel did have to admit she had been rather distracted for the past few months.

"I'm surprised you haven't come sooner," Rachel remarked.

"Everyone was always too busy to come with me," Kurt said with a shrug. "Tina was always doing something with Mike, Mercedes was too busy talking to some guy she met at church, and you've barely been reachable the past few weeks."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, frowning.

"Look, you can also have your fortune told," Kurt commented, pointing to the advertisement in the window.

"Isn't this a strange place for a fortune teller?" Rachel asked.

"You should do it," Kurt said.

"Why me?" Rachel asked.

"So you can see if your name is going to appear in lights on Broadway one day," Kurt answered.

"Well, I already know that's going to happen," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Maybe she'll tell you something about your love life," Kurt added.

It was tempting; she'd never had her fortune told before and she was curious about what the woman would tell her. If the woman really could predict the future, there were certainly some things Rachel would like to know. Rachel definitely believed in such abilities—she even thought of herself as a little bit psychic—and she hoped this woman wouldn't say that she had them if she didn't.

"I think I will," Rachel finally said after thinking about it for a moment. "It could be fun."

Rachel smiled at Kurt and then opened the door to the shop. The inside was bright, smelled faintly of flowers, and had rows of racks that were crammed full of clothes. The building itself was one of the smaller ones on Main Street, so there wasn't an abundant amount of room. Despite that, though, the shop looked well organized and clean.

"Welcome," the woman behind the counter greeted. "I'm Abby; if you need any assistance, let me know."

"Thank you," Rachel said, smiling at her

"Where's the psychic?" Kurt asked.

"She has a room in the back corner," Abby answered, pointing them in the right direction. "She's with a customer right now, but she should be available soon."

"In the meantime, let's go find you a new outfit," Kurt said, linking their arms, and pulled her toward the nearest clothes rack. "I think your wardrobe could use a little update. Nothing extreme; I just think we should add a few pieces to it."

"I thought you promised no more makeovers," Rachel reminded him

"This isn't a makeover," Kurt replied. "I'm just going to find some things I think will look good on you. Ones that are you, of course."

Kurt began pulling clothes from the racks and holding them up to her. She didn't bother fighting it because her wardrobe really could use an update. And as long as he wasn't trying to sabotage her, he really did have good taste in clothing. Thankfully, he really was picking up things that she could see herself wearing. They were her, but a more stylish Rachel Berry.

"Let me hold that," Kurt said, taking the skirt she was holding, and turning her around. "Now, go to the fortune teller."

Rachel saw that a woman was leaving, which she assumed was the customer the lady at the front told them about. She glanced over her shoulder at Kurt, who gave her a gentle push, and she began walking toward the corner. It was a little silly, but she was nervous, and she thought about turning around and telling Kurt she changed her mind. What if the woman told her she was doomed to fail or forever going to be alone? If that was her fate, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

The woman at the front had said the fortune teller had a room, but it was less of a room and more of a sectioned off part of the shop. There was a colorful curtain around the area and Rachel peeked into the front. She didn't just want to walk in, but since there were no actual walls, she couldn't exactly knock. Just as she was about to clear her throat, hoping to announce her presence, a voice said, "You can come in."

"I didn't want to interrupt," Rachel said as she walked in.

"What's your name?" the fortune teller asked.

"Rachel," the brunette answered

"I'm Nadia," the woman said. "Are you here to find what your future holds?"

"Yes," Rachel answered. "How much does it cost?"

"Forty dollars," Nadia answered.

Rachel reached into her bag and pulled out her pocketbook, hoping she had the money on her. Thankfully, she did, and she pulled out the money, setting it on the table. The woman picked it up and put it to the side, motioning for Rachel to take a seat across from her. Between them was a crystal ball, some unlit candles, and what Rachel could only assume was incense, which all sat on a purple and black cloth.

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, whispering something to herself, and then opened them, staring at the crystal ball. Rachel glanced down at it, wondering how exactly it was supposed to work. Rather than ask, she sat quietly, not wanting to interrupt the process. It felt like forever that they were sitting there in silence, but then the woman finally looked up at her.

"You've recently gone through a breakup," she stated.

"I have," Rachel confirmed.

"You're sad," the woman continued. "But it won't last long."

"It won't?" Rachel asked.

"You're also part of a group," she said. "A club of some kind. That's where you will find your true love."

"Finn and I are going to get back together?" Rachel asked hopefully.

The psychic shook her head. "This is a new love, not an old one. That's all I can say."

Rachel huffed. "That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Oh, and you'll find your phone on Monday," the psychic stated.

Rachel's mouth opened and closed several times before she said, "Thank you for the information."

Rachel stood and calmly left the small room despite her mind racing. She looked around for Kurt, wanting to run over and tell him everything. It took her a moment to find him, but then she saw him kneeling down, looking at the hem of a dress.

"That was quick," Kurt said, his arms loaded down with garments as she approached. "Here, try these on."

"But—"

"Go," Kurt said, pushing her toward the dressing room. "You can tell me all about it while you're trying the clothes on."

Rachel sighed and took the skirts he was holding out. "Okay, but you're going to want to hear about it."

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><p>Since the moment Rachel learned she would find her true love, she couldn't think of anything else. Although, she did find it hard to believe that it wasn't Finn and wondered if the fortune teller was wrong on that part. Despite the fact that he had dumped her twice, she always thought they would eventually end up together. Maybe not in high school, but she had a fantasy that he would come to see her on Broadway and the two would have a reconciliation, leading to their happily ever after. But now that she knew it wasn't Finn, she couldn't stop wondering who it was.<p>

The most obvious choice would be Puck or Mike, but the latter was in a relationship with Tina and Puck was—Puck. While Rachel found him attractive enough and she thought he was very talented, she just couldn't imagine him being the one for her. As far as she knew, he'd cheated on every girl he had ever been with and she didn't relish the thought of going through that. Mike, on the other hand, was very trustworthy and one of the few guys who had actually treated her well even before they were in Glee together. But he and Tina were obviously in love, so she was doubtful it was him.

That left Artie and Kurt. Kurt was certainly not the one due to obvious reasons and Artie, while nice enough, wasn't someone she could see herself being with. It wasn't because of him being in a wheelchair, but because they had absolutely nothing in common other than them both liking music. But even their musical tastes were vastly different. And he had once insinuated that Barbra Streisand was overrated, which was something Rachel could never forgive.

In the three and a half hours that Rachel had been home, she had made a pro and con list for each guy in Glee and ranked them from most to least likely. And then starting Monday, she would go through and eliminate them one by one until she found out the identity of her true love. Thankfully, her list was only three people—she had immediately eliminated Kurt—so she hoped it didn't take more than a day to figure it out.

If it wasn't for the psychic knowing about her phone, she would have been inclined to believe the woman was a fraud. But there was no way she could have known about that; she was positive neither her nor Kurt had mentioned it at the boutique for anyone to overhear. Plus, she'd also been correct about the recent breakup. Rachel figured it was too much of a coincidence to know about both things, so she had no doubt the woman really did have psychic abilities. She just wished she had been a little more informative. How hard would it have been for the woman to give her some details? She didn't know how the whole fortune telling thing worked, but it seemed like she could have at least given her a physical description of the guy.

Regardless of the lack of details, she was going to get to the bottom of it and figure out who her true love was. She had a short list and was confident she would have it all figured out by the end of the week. After all, how hard could it be?


	2. Chapter 2

**egzoited: I hope to update once a week. The first four chapters are done, so unless I write **_**really**_** slowly, that shouldn't change.**

**Sithlord223: Yes, this takes place during their junior year.**

**Thank you to everyone who has altered, favorited, and reviewed. I was a little nervous about posting this story, so I was thrilled to see that you all liked the first chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Rachel swiftly walked through the front door of McKinley High full of determination. Since Friday evening, she had been unable to think of anything but what the psychic told her. She was so focused on it that her fathers hadn't even managed to successfully distract her with Barbra night. She was tired of thinking about it, though; she needed action. She needed to know the identity of her true love and she was going to figure it out by the end of the school day.

As she walked toward her locker, she realized just how early she was. She hadn't intended to be, but she'd been so excited to get to school that she guessed she left a little earlier than usual. The halls were relatively empty, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they began filling up. She was glad she was there early, though; she could use the time to go to her locker, which would free up her time before homeroom to do other things. Like observing the three potential love interests and discussing the Glee assignment with Kurt.

She had been too preoccupied on Friday to talk to Kurt about it then, but she still wanted them to join together to find their new members. Who wouldn't want to be a part of a club with them? She knew they were both superb singers, who were going to carry the Glee Club to a Nationals win that year. People were bound to want to join just for the fact that Nationals were in New York, which meant they would get a free trip to the city. And then once they were in the club, they would see just how amazing it could be. Even Santana had admitted once that it was the best part of her day.

After putting some books in her locker and pulling others out, she picked her bag up from the floor and closed her locker. She took her notepad out of the bag and flipped it open. Over the weekend, she had compiled a list of pros and cons for Mike, Artie, and Puck, as well as a list of interests, topics to converse with them about, and their daily schedules. She knew Puck and Mike would both be at football practice until it was nearly time for the bell to ring, so it would be best to focus on Artie that morning. That's if she could even find him. She wasn't sure what time he usually arrived at school, but she couldn't really remember ever seeing him there in the morning.

As she began walking down the hall in search of Artie, she heard music coming from the choir room and made a beeline for it. She hoped luck would be on her side and it would be Artie, but when she peeked into the room, it was Kurt. Thankfully, he was the other person she was looking for, so she walked into the room and waited for him to finish singing.

"How long have you been there?" Kurt asked when he turned around to stop the CD, noticing her for the first time.

"A minute or two," Rachel answered. "I wanted to speak to you about the assignment this week."

"What did you have in mind?" Kurt asked.

"I actually haven't given it a lot of thought," Rachel admitted. "I've been a little preoccupied with other things, but I stand by what I said Friday. We're the best singers and I think with our combined efforts that we can get the members we need. I do think we need to do something big; something that will get everyone's attention."

"A performance in the courtyard?" Kurt suggested.

"I think either there or the cafeteria will give us our biggest audiences," Rachel said, nodding as she thought about the possibilities. "There are usually more people in the cafeteria, but the courtyard is more spacious and would allow for a bigger and better performance." Rachel paused. "Of course, there's also always the possibility of having food thrown at us in the cafeteria, so I think maybe we should go with your idea of performing in the courtyard."

Kurt nodded. "Do have any song ideas?"

"Not yet, but I suggest we both take the day to think about it and discuss it directly after Glee," Rachel replied. "We can use the next few days to perfect everything, and then on Thursday or Friday we can give this school the best performance they have ever seen."

"I'm surprised you don't already have a list," Kurt commented.

"Well, I spent the majority of the weekend thinking about what that fortune teller told me," Rachel replied.

"I still can't believe she charged you forty dollars for nothing," Kurt remarked.

"It wasn't nothing," Rachel replied. "Yes, she could have given me a few more details, but maybe I'm just meant to figure this out on my own. Or maybe it isn't as simple as we think it is; maybe she doesn't see the details, but gets the overall picture. Regardless, she obviously has a gift if she knew about my phone."

"Have you found it, yet?" Kurt asked.

Rachel sighed. "No, but it's not even first period, so there's plenty of time left." Rachel paused for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know where Artie usually is before homeroom, would you?"

"I have no idea," Kurt answered before raising his eyebrow at her. "Why do you want to know where Artie is?"

"Because I need to eliminate him as a possibility," Rachel answered. "There are only five guys in Glee and the psychic told me it wasn't Finn and it obviously isn't you, so that just leaves Artie, Mike, and Noah."

"Obviously," Kurt replied.

"Well, I'm off to find Artie!" Rachel brightly said. "Hopefully, anyway. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Kurt said as Rachel turned on her heel and strode out of the room, determined to find Artie before the first bell rang.

* * *

><p>As Rachel stood on the tips of her toes to look around for Artie, she had to come to the conclusion that he just wasn't at school. She'd been looking around for him all day and had yet to catch a glimpse of him, which meant he either wasn't there or he was just really good at hiding from her. She did, however see Mike standing at the back of the lunch line, so she decided to set her sights on him for the time being. She immediately made her way over to him, stopping just behind him in the line.<p>

"Hello, Mike," Rachel greeted.

"Hi," Mike said, looking at her curiously.

Rachel opened her mouth, closing it a moment later, realizing she wasn't sure if she and Mike had ever talked outside of Glee before. Or even inside of Glee. Other than exchanging the occasional pleasantries, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a conversation with him. He was just always so quiet that she often didn't even notice that he was around.

"Do you have any plans for this week's Glee assignment?" Rachel eventually asked.

"I don't know," Mike answered. "It's not like I can really sing."

"No, but you're one of the best dancers I've ever seen," Rachel said, giving him a smile. "Really, you're amazing, a huge asset to the Glee Club."

"Um, thanks," Mike replied.

"I mean it," Rachel continued. "Kurt and I are planning to perform later in the week. Maybe you could join us."

"I think Tina wanted to do something," Mike stated.

"Oh, well, couldn't you do both?" Rachel asked. "Any exposure for the club has to be a good thing, and with you there, they will see that it's not just all singing."

"I'll think about it," Mike replied.

"Please do," Rachel said as Mike grabbed a tray. "So, how long have you and Tina been seeing each other?"

"A couple months," Mike answered.

"That must be nice," Rachel commented. "You two must have a lot in common."

"What, because we're both Asian?" Mike asked. "That's a little racist."

Rachel shook her head. "I meant because you're in some of the same clubs and didn't you start dating while at the same camp?"

"I guess," Mike replied.

Rachel sighed as she picked up a tray of her own. This wasn't how she wanted this to go; she was hoping she would know right away if there was any spark between them, but there was only the feeling of complete and utter awkwardness. Of course, being Rachel Berry, she wasn't about to give up easily. She just needed to find a better way to connect with him.

"I've been thinking about taking dance lessons again," Rachel lied. "Do you know any good teachers in the area."

"I don't know," Mike replied. "I haven't really taken any classes before. My dad's always thought it was a waste of time, so I've just watched videos online."

"That's too bad," Rachel said with a frown. "I can only imagine how amazing you would be if you'd had training. To be able to learn from videos is wonderful, though; you obviously have a natural talent when it comes to dance. You're really lucky. You know, maybe you could try to help me with my dancing, and in return, I could repay you by helping you with your singing."

"Maybe," Mike replied. "I'm going to go find Tina now."

"But you don't even have your lunch," Rachel stated.

"Yeah, I'm not really hungry," Mike said before hurrying off.

Rachel sighed again as she watched Mike go over and sit down next to Tina. She felt foolish for trying in the first place, and that was before she'd completely crashed and burned. Now, she had completely embarrassed herself and she still wasn't even sure if she could cross Mike off the list or not. Probably since he had a girlfriend and didn't seem overly interested in talking to her, but she didn't want to do anything too hasty.

"Hey."

"Hello, Finn," Rachel greeted, not bothering to look over her shoulder.

"Why were you and Mike talking?" Finn asked.

"Why do you need to know that?" Rachel asked back.

"Just wondering," Finn answered. "I didn't think you were, like, friends or anything."

"We were merely discussing this week's Glee assignment," Rachel said.

"Oh, cool," Finn replied.

As Rachel got her salad, she was all too aware that Finn was directly behind her, and she could feel his eyes on her back. Normally she would have spoken to him, but with the way he ended things over the summer, combining with learning that he wasn't her true love, and she really had nothing to say to him. Before that, she really thought they would get back together, but no longer appeared to be the case. She figured a clean break would be the best for both of them right now. Maybe one day they could be friends, but everything was still too fresh for that at the moment.

"I think I got Sam to come to Glee today," Finn announced.

"That's nice, Finn," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, and he can totally sing," Finn said, giving her a crooked smile. "I don't know if he can dance or anything, but I guess that doesn't matter. It's not like I'm a great dancer, right?"

"I'm sure you could be if you applied yourself a little more," Rachel offhandedly replied.

"Do you really think so?" Finn asked.

"Anybody can get better with practice," Rachel remarked, looking over her shoulder to find Finn with a disappointed look on his face. "I should go. Kurt is expecting me."

It was a lie—Kurt had no idea she wanted to talk to him—but she really did want to discuss things with him a little more. She already had several song ideas and she wanted to get his opinion on them, and also see if he had come up with any. Thankfully, she saw him sitting at the table they usually sat at. Unfortunately, Mike and Tina were both there as well.

* * *

><p>"I need your help," Rachel said, stopping by Kurt's locker, and looking at him intently.<p>

"I thought you already had a bunch of songs," Kurt said as she closed the door, turning around to lean his back against it slightly.

"Not with that," Rachel replied.

"Then with what?" Kurt asked.

"With this fortune teller situation," Rachel replied. "I tried talking to Mike at lunch and I only embarrassed myself. I talked to him again during fourth period and I think I only made it worse." Rachel sighed. "I had this plan to figure it by the end of the day. The day is halfway over and I'm no closer to discovering the identity of my true love."

"What do you expect me to do?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know—help me figure out who it is!" Rachel replied. "There has to be some way."

"Have you found your phone?" Kurt asked.

"Not yet, but I will," Rachel answered.

"Or you won't," Kurt remarked.

"The fortune teller said I will get it, so I will," Rachel replied.

"Or she was a fraud," Kurt said.

"What?" Rachel asked. "You were the one who suggested I should get my fortune told!"

Kurt shrugged. "That doesn't mean I believe in them. I just thought it would be fun." He looked at her. "They all tell you what you want to hear! You're a teenage girl, so of course she told you you're going to find your true love. Isn't that what all teen girls want? Every movie we watched together this summer was about that."

Rachel scoffed; she didn't understand how Kurt could push her to see the fortune teller when he didn't even believe in psychic powers. "How do you explain her knowing about my phone, then?"

"She probably overheard us talking about it at the store," Kurt replied. "Or the shop owner heard us and told her."

"But I didn't talk about it while we were there," Rachel argued.

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked. "Maybe you did and you don't remember."

Rachel wanted to argue more, but she closed her mouth with a frown. Was it possible that she mentioned it at the boutique, but didn't remember? She was almost certain she didn't, but Kurt was having her second guess herself. No, she had to be real. Rachel would know if she was a fraud, and she just didn't get that feeling from her. She was real and she would prove it to Kurt; she would get her phone back by the end of the day and show him that the psychic was accurate,

"Fine, I will prove you wrong," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Good luck with that," Kurt replied, smirking slightly.

Rachel huffed. "You'll see, Kurt. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

Rachel held her head high as she walked down the hallway. She wanted to check the choir room once again before her final class. She knew it was a long shot—she had already checked twice—but she wanted to be certain her phone wasn't there. She really didn't know where else to look. She had checked the lost and found earlier in the day, but it was as if it had disappeared into thin air. That was impossible, of course, but she had no idea where it could be.

When she walked into the room, she kept her eyes on the floor as she scanned the room. She looked under the piano, though she didn't know how it would have slid that far from where it must have fallen, and even crawled on her hands and knees to check behind each leg. Sighing, she began backing, knowing it was pointless to keep looking. Her phone was in a bedazzled, pink case and it would be incredibly hard to miss.

"What are you doing?"

Rachel jumped, bumping her head on the edge of the piano, and when she looked up, Quinn was standing over her with her arms crossed over her chest. "I was just looking for something that I seem to have misplaced."

"Is it your dignity?" Quinn asked.

"Very funny," Rachel said, rubbing the side of her head, where a small lump was already forming. "You wouldn't happen to have seen my phone lying around on Friday, would you? I seem to have lost it whenever Santana decided to kick over my bag."

"Why would I know where your phone is?" Quinn asked, sounding completely bored by the conversation.

"I'm not saying you do," Rachel replied. "I'm simply asking if you maybe saw it on Friday, but I'll take your response as a no." Rachel glanced at Quinn. "I guess I should congratulate you on becoming head cheerleader again. I'm surprised Coach Sylvester was reasonable enough to let you back on the squad, but I'm happy for you, Quinn."

Quinn cocked her eyebrow as she asked, "Why would you care?"

Rachel shrugged. "I know you love being on the Cheerios and I always thought it was unfair what she did last year. She had no right to do that to you."

Quinn stared at her for a moment before turning around and walking out of the room. Rachel took a deep breath and slowly released it as she shook her head, wondering if she would ever understand Quinn. It was impossible to predict how the blonde was going to act toward her—whether she was going to be hostile, civil, or just completely indifferent. It was frustrating, to say the least. Sometimes she wondered if Quinn had multiple personalities, but she'd noticed that Quinn only really seemed to be like that toward her.

Sighing to herself, Rachel quickly checked the rest of the choir room just before the warning bell rang, signaling the need to get to her sixth period class. She picked her bag up from where she had set it by the piano and hurriedly walked out of the room, not wanting to be tardy in only her second week of school.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked into class just as the bell rang, but all her rushing was for nothing, because the teacher wasn't even there, yet. Now that she knew she wasn't going to be tardy, she took a calming breath. She turned and began walking to her usual seat, but was currently occupied by another student, so she looked around for an empty one. Unfortunately, the only empty seats were in the back of the room and she hated sitting at the back of the room. The teachers were already prone to ignoring her, and it was even harder for her to get noticed back there.<p>

The only upside to her situation was that there was an unoccupied seat in front of Puck. Normally she would have seen that as a downside, but she still needed to talk to him, and what better time to do it? The teacher was nowhere in sight and she could act completely casual about it. She did need a new seat, after all, so it wouldn't look as if she was deliberately sitting near him.

"Is this seat taken?" Rachel asked.

"What's it look like?" Puck asked back.

"I'll take that as a no," Rachel said as she smoothed down her skirt and sat down.

Rachel pulled out her notebook along with her textbook, and then groped around the front pocket of her bag for a pencil. Huffing, she opened the pocket wider, moving a few things aside until she finally found a pen. It wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but it would do. Once everything was situated properly on her desk, she glanced over her shoulder at Puck, who was drawing on the desk. Rachel frowned at the sight, especially when she noticed that he was drawing what appeared to be a naked woman riding on a motorcycle. Or maybe it was a shark. She really couldn't tell from the angle she was looking at it from.

She turned to face the front of the room again, trying not to look back. For all her thinking and planning, she had no idea what to say to the boy behind her. They'd had a small fling the previous year after Finn broke up with her for a few weeks, but they hadn't talked very much during those few days. Mostly, they just made out in her room. From what little they did talk, though, Rachel knew they had absolutely nothing in common other than being Jewish and loving to perform. Well, she loved to perform, anyway; for Puck, it seemed more of a way to pick up girls than anything else. She couldn't remember the last time he voluntarily performed when it didn't involve trying to woo a girl.

"How was your first week of school?" Rachel asked, turning around in her seat.

"It was just like every other week at this craphole," Puck answered.

"It couldn't be all bad," Rachel replied.

"I did get to throw this one loser freshman into the dumpster behind the football field," Puck commented with a smirk. "There had to have been, like puke in there or something, and he got it all over him."

"Why would you do that?" Rachel asked.

"Because these freshman need to learn their place," Puck said. "That little punk hit my truck with a Frisbee and then lied. No one lies to the Puckster's face and gets away with it."

"Well, I'm sure there was a nicer way to settle the dispute," Rachel replied, shaking her head. "He could have paid you for the damage and apologized."

"There wasn't any damage," Puck said. "If there was, he'd be in a body bag right now."

"That's—" Rachel sighed, not knowing how to respond.

She often didn't understand boys and Puck was no exception. Of course, she often didn't understand other girls a lot of the time, either, but at least they didn't usually react with physical violence. Most, anyway; Santana was certainly an exception to that. But Puck was constantly getting into fights with other people or threatening them if they didn't do what he wanted. It was baffling to Rachel; she would never think to react in that manner to conflict in her life.

"My boy, Finn, came over Friday," Puck stated.

"Okay," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, he was wondering why you wouldn't let him help you or some shit like that," Puck said. "I wasn't really listening; I was too busy killing him in Halo."

"Help me how?" Rachel wondered.

"I don't know," Puck replied. "He said something about Santana and a bag. The dude was whining, and I barely even listen to chicks when they're like that, so if I'm not getting sex out of it, I'm definitely not gonna listen."

"Oh, that." Rachel frowned. "Why would he care about that?"

Puck shrugged. "I told you I wasn't listening."

"Finn and I are over and he needs to accept that," Rachel replied.

"You think he would since he was the one that dumped you," Puck said.

"How about you?" Rachel asked. "Are you dating anyone right now? I know you and Quinn were sort of involved last year."

"Dude, that's way over," Puck replied. "She expected me to take her and still not get any? The girl's crazy. Seriously. She gets mad at you for no reason and then thinks you're just gonna apologize because she's hot or whatever. Well, Puck doesn't play that game. There are other girls at this school that would kill to be with me and I'm not gonna let any girl tell me I can't do what I want. I don't even care how hot she is."

Rachel looked across the room at Quinn, who was staring at them with a scowl. She quickly looked away, not wanting Quinn to think they were talking about her even if they were.

"When did you break up with her? Rachel wondered.

"She sort of broke up with me right after school ended," Puck said with a shrug. "She saw some texts on my phone and went ballistic. Whatever."

Rachel didn't even have to ask what kind of text messages she found. Sighing, she turned around, hoping to end the conversation, and remembering exactly why she had never seen Puck as a viable potential suitor.

* * *

><p>As Rachel walked through the choir room doors. she paused just inside and smiled to herself. She walked over to her seat and reached down, picking her phone up and looking over it. It was in perfect condition, though the battery was dead, and she had no idea where it had come from. Per usual, she was the first person to Glee, so she was the only one in the room, and there was no one around to ask who set her phone there.<p>

She looked around to make sure she really was alone in the room, but there was definitely no one around. Considering she was just in there only an hour ago, though, her phone had to have appeared recently. And since it was sitting in her seat, someone must have had it since Friday, knowing she was missing it. She wondered why the person wouldn't have just given it to her at the beginning of the day, but she wasn't going to dwell on it too much. She was just glad she had her phone back; she had already lost one that year and her fathers wouldn't have been too happy about having to replace another one.

"Good news," Kurt said as he walked in. "I've found us the perfect song."

"I found my phone," Rachel said, holding it up with a smile. "Well, it found me. It was sitting on my seat when I came in."

"Who put it there?" Kurt asked.

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know; no one was in here. It's weird, isn't it? How it just showed up like that? I've been looking everywhere for it today and now here it is."

"It wasn't thrown in a toilet or anything, was it?" Kurt asked, looking at it with some skepticism.

"It appears to be perfectly fine," Rachel answered before smiling widely. "She told me I would get it back today and I did. She was right! I told you I would prove you wrong."

"That doesn't prove anything," Kurt stated.

"It proves that she was right about this, and she could very well be right about my true love," Rachel argued.

"Or it proves she's very good at guessing," Kurt replied. "She overheard us talking about your phone, and you're obviously a high school student, so it's only logical that you lost it at school. And it was Friday, so there was a good chance you wouldn't find it until Monday."

Rachel sighed and asked, "Why don't you want to believe in this."

"I don't want you to get your hopes up," Kurt replied.

"Maybe it's good that I get my hopes up," Rachel said, watching as the rest of their fellow Glee members began filing in. "It's not as if I have a lot of other things to hope for right now. I'm single, no one in Glee will listen to me, and nothing has been going according to plan." She looked around as she lowered her voice. "Finn and I were supposed to have a great summer romance and things were going to be different this year." Rachel sighed. "But everything is the same. I need something to look forward to because Broadway is years away. I need something to hope for right now."

"Okay, but don't come crying to me if it doesn't work out," Kurt replied.

"It will work out," Rachel insisted.

"What will work out?" Tina asked.

"Our performance," Rachel lied. "Kurt and I are working on something for this week's assignment."

"Do you think you'll be able to find us some new people?" Tina asked.

"That's what we're hoping for," Rachel answered.

"Okay, guys, if everyone would sit down, we can get started!" Mr. Schue said, walking into the room.

Rachel gave Tina a smile and took her usual seat while Kurt sat to her left. Rachel slipped her phone into her bag and stashed it under her seat, hoping that it would be out of the way in case Santana wanted to repeat what she did on Friday. When she glanced over her shoulder, Santana was smirking down at her, apparently noticing the action. Rachel flipped her hair as she faced forward, giving Mr. Schue her full attention, and ignoring the girl behind her.

"Alright, before we start, Finn told me he has an announcement," Mr. Schue said.

"Finn smiled and stood up, staying by his chair. "I would like to introduce everyone to our newest member, Sam! Come on out, Sam!"

The blond haired boy ran in to a smattering of applause, and Rachel looked at Kurt as they both clapped. She had noticed Sam in the halls once or twice, but she didn't know anything about him other than that Finn said he could sing. She just hoped he was as good Finn said; the Glee Club may take anyone, but they needed people who could sing and dance if they were going to make it to Nationals this time. And they were going to make it to Nationals; Rachel was going to make sure of it if she single-handedly had to do everything herself.

"Hi, I'm Sam Evans," he said, stopping in front of the group.

"His mouth is huge," Kurt whispered.

"Do you know what this means?" Rachel asked.

"That he has to use a lot of ChapStick?" Kurt answered.

"Not that," Rachel replied. "Although that is probably true. I meant maybe he's the one the fortune teller was talking about! His joining today could be a sign."

"I don't know about that," Kurt said, glancing at Sam. "Something tells me you're not his type."

"How can you know that?" Rachel asked. "Maybe he isn't as superficial as most of the boys at this school."

"His hair," Kurt answered. "There's no way he's not on team gay with that hair."

"Well, I'll just have to prove you wrong again," Rachel replied, smiling at her friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Since someone asked about it, there are only going to be seven chapters to this story. I know that will probably disappoint some of you, but it was never meant to be a long story.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

When Rachel walked into school on Tuesday morning, she was on a mission. She was determined to find Sam and ask him out to coffee in hopes of getting to know him. Something told her it was a sign that he joined the Monday after she found out her true love was in Glee Club, and she wasn't going to waste any time. Right now, the only thing she knew about him was that he was new to McKinley and that he was on the football team. She just hoped he hadn't been there long enough to know how unpopular she was. Then again, maybe he was the type who didn't care about popularity. It would certainly be a nice departure from being with Finn, who constantly worried about it and broke up with her because of it.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Rachel stopped at the sound of Kurt's voice, not even noticing him standing in the hallway. "Have you seen Sam around?"

"Why do you want—never mind." Kurt shook his head. "No, I haven't seen him."

"Is football practice over?" Rachel wondered.

Kurt shrugged. "You're asking me?"

"You were on the team," Rachel pointed out.

"Yes, for about a half a second," Kurt replied. "You were the one who dated someone on the football team for months."

"I know, but he didn't like me going out there to wait on him," Rachel admitted. "I suppose I could go out to the football field and check."

"So, I'm guessing Sam is your next target," Kurt commented.

"I thought I should at least figure out if he's a viable option," Rachel replied. "He could be worse than Noah for all I know."

"Good luck," Kurt said. "You're going to need it."

"Why do you say that?" Rachel wondered.

Kurt shrugged, but she could tell by his slight smirk that it wasn't just some offhanded comment. She wondered if he knew something she didn't, but she hoped he would let her know if Sam had a girlfriend or something before she made a fool of herself. She decided not to ask him, though; instead, she began walking down the hallway again, heading to the football field, and hoping practice wasn't over.

As she walked out of the school, the Cheerios were just starting to come inside. She gave them a wide berth, wanting to stay as far away from Santana as possible, hoping she wouldn't notice her if she did so. As she was walking by, though, Santana looked up. Her face instantly went from passive to conniving, and Rachel began walking more quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough; Santana made a beeline for her, and Rachel instinctively braced herself.

"What do you think you're doing?" Santana asked. "This is a Hobbit free area."

"I'm just—"

"I don't care," Santana interrupted.

"Then why did you ask?" Rachel retorted.

"Coach Sylvester wants us inside," Quinn said, grabbing Santana's arm.

"In a minute, Q," Santana replied, yanking her arm out of the other Cheerio's grasp.

"Now," Quinn demanded.

Santana rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "It's your lucky day, Berry, but the next time you sees me—"

"Just go before Sylvester makes us all run a hundred extra laps tomorrow,' Quinn interrupted.

Rachel slowly let out the breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. She was about to thank Quinn, when the blonde turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Rachel to herself once again. Rachel sighed, wondering what Santana had in store for her and if she had a change of clothes in her locker.

As she heard yelling from the football field, she remembered why she was out there in the first place. She quickly began walking toward the field again, where the team was still standing about while their new football coach yelled at them. Rachel waited off to the side, hoping to remain unseen. She still wasn't too sure about Coach Beiste and she was afraid she would be yelled at for being there. Frankly, the woman scared her a little bit and she didn't want to get on her bad side. Coach Sylvester already hated her; she didn't want yet another adult at the school who tried to make her life difficult.

"Go!" Coach Beiste yelled. "You're all as useless as feathers on a pig."

Rachel frowned slightly at the saying, but quickly put it out of her mind as the football player began walking by. She noticed Sam lagging near the back, so she took the opportunity to smooth her skirt out while she waited on him to near.

"Hey, Rachel," Finn said when he noticed her.

"Hello, Finn," Rachel greeted.

"Did you, like, want to talk to me or something?" Finn asked.

"Actually, I wanted to discuss something with Sam," Rachel answered.

"What do you want to talk to Sam about?" Finn asked.

"About Glee," Rachel lied.

"Oh," Finn said, frowning.

"Did I hear my name?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Rachel answered, giving Sam a smile. "If you'll excuse us, Finn."

"Yeah, whatever," Finn said, clearly not happy about the turn of events.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"I wanted to know if you would like to get coffee after school," Rachel stated.

Sam furrowed his brows slightly. "Who are you?"

"Rachel Berry," she said. "I'm the captain of the Glee Club."

"I thought Finn was the captain," Sam replied.

"We're co-captains," Rachel said.

"Are you wanting to talk about Glee or something?" Sam asked.

"I simply like to get to know everyone in the club." Rachel said. "I thought coffee would be the perfect opportunity to do just that."

"Okay, cool," Sam replied.

"Is that a yes?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," Sam answered with a shrug.

"Wonderful," Rachel said with a wide smile. "I will you meet you at the Lima Bean at four o'clock.

Sam nodded and then gave her a slightly skeptical look before continuing on his way toward the school. Rachel felt like that could have gone better, but he had agreed to coffee, so she wasn't going to worry about it too much. She would just be certain to make a better impression that afternoon.

* * *

><p>Rachel glanced around the hallway on her way to class, looking for any sign of Santana. Since that morning, she'd been paranoid that she was going to get a slushie to the face any moment. Knowing Santana, she would wait several days and then get her when she least expected it. But Rachel wasn't going to fall for that; she knew the Cheerio's tricks by now. Not only would she be extra vigilant in the halls for the next few weeks, but she would be sure to have several changes of clothes in case she did happen to catch her off guard. She hoped if she was careful enough, Santana would eventually forget all about her threat.<p>

She breathed a slight sigh of relief as she walked into her fourth period classroom without any sort of altercation. On her way to her seat, she was surprised to realize Quinn was sitting in front of her usual seat. The blonde had been sitting on the other side of the room since the first day of class. No one was sitting in Quinn's usual seat—there were actually only two other students there—so she wasn't sure why she suddenly changed seats.

Quinn was reading a book and didn't look up as Rachel walked by or when she sat down. That didn't surprise Rachel, though; sometimes Quinn would read through Glee without so much as looking up. She was often wanted to ask Quinn was reading, but she was afraid to ask, never knowing what mood Quinn was going to be in. Sometimes she would be civil and Rachel would think she was making progress with her, but other times it was as if they were back in freshman year.

"May I ask what you're reading?" Rachel ventured.

Quinn looked up slightly and then looked down at her book, never acknowledging Rachel. Just when she thought the blonde was going to ignore her completely, she said, "It's just a book of short stories."

"Oh?" Rachel asked. "What short story are you currently reading?"

"Carmilla," Quinn said with a sigh.

"I don't believe I have ever heard of that before," Rachel commented. "Is it good?"

Quinn shrugged. "It's okay."

As the silence fell between them, Rachel sighed softly to herself. She wanted to be friends with Quinn, but it didn't seem like that was ever going to be possible. She'd tried her hardest to get the blonde to like her, but nothing she did worked. Sometimes being around Quinn felt like playing a game of Chutes and Ladders. Every time she thought she was getting somewhere, she could make one wrong move and have to start back at the beginning. It was frustrating, to say the least, and Rachel didn't know how to stop making those wrong moves.

"Thank you for this morning," Rachel said.

"For what?" Quinn asked.

"Distracting Santana," Rachel replied. "I know you didn't do it for my sake, but thank you, nevertheless. I had something important that I needed to discuss with someone and I was thankful I wasn't too delayed by her. If I was bleeding, I certainly would have had to postpone."

"She wouldn't have made you bleed," Quinn stated. "She would have just slapped you."

"Well, that doesn't sound any more pleasant," Rachel commented.

Quinn paused for a few moments before asking, "Does this mean you and Finn are dating again?"

"No," Rachel replied. "Why would you think that?"

Quinn turned in her seat slightly, looking at Rachel, and cocking her eyebrow. "Why else would you go to the football field?"

"Actually, I was there to talk to Sam," Rachel said. "I thought I should get to know him since he's going to be in Glee with us."

Quinn had a barely-there frown on her face—or maybe it was a scowl—and Rachel knew she could see right through her lie. She wasn't going to tell Quinn the truth, though. She knew it would inevitably lead to Quinn mocking her, and then she would probably tell Santana, who would mock her some more. And knowing Santana, she would probably go after Sam just to spite her, and Rachel would have no chance. She knew she wasn't traditionally pretty, and most of the guys at the school would pick Santana over her any day. She was popular, pretty, and if all the rumors about her were true, she would also put out. It was impossible for her to compete with all of that.

"Finn dumps you, so now you're going after the other quarterback," Quinn remarked. "Do you really think he's going to want you when he finds out dating you is going to get him laughed off the team?"

"I said nothing about having any intention of dating Sam," Rachel stated, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

She didn't know why, but Quinn's insults always hurt worse than the ones coming from Santana. Maybe it was because she thought at one point that they may be friends—she had obviously been very wrong about that—but they always just stung a little bit more. Or maybe the reason was that Quinn just always seemed to know exactly what to say to hurt her. She always knew exactly how to play on her insecurities and make her feel even worse about herself. And as much as Rachel tried to not let Quinn's words bother her, it was sometimes easier said than done.

Quinn shook her head and as she turned around, she said, "It's obvious what you're doing."

"Even if that is what I was doing, why would it matter to you?" Rachel asked.

"It doesn't," Quinn replied. "I just—"

"What?" Rachel asked when Quinn trailed off.

"I just think you need to stop caring so much about being popular," Quinn said, sounding annoyed. "You went after Finn because you thought he could raise your social status, and you're doing the same again with the new kid."

"Isn't that why you've dated everyone you've been with?" Rachel asked with a huff.

"At least _I've_ learned from my mistakes," Quinn said, raising her voice.

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at the back of Quinn's head. She didn't know how she had any right to criticize her choices when Quinn had done exactly the same thing. And Rachel didn't believe for a moment that Quinn had changed. She was the same Quinn she had always been and would continue to be.

* * *

><p>"Guess what," Rachel said as she walked into the choir room.<p>

"What?" Kurt asked.

"Sam and I are getting coffee after school," Rachel announced.

"He agreed to that?" Kurt asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "Although, I kind of lied to him about my intentions. I told him I wanted to get to know him because he's in Glee and I like to get to know everyone. I figured it would be the safest way to do it. This way, I can see if we have anything in common or if there's any spark there before I ask him out. Or, hopefully, before he asks me out."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I really don't think that's going to happen," Kurt said.

Rachel frowned. "Why? If he was completely repulsed by me, I don't think he would have agreed to coffee, no matter my reasons for asking him there." Kurt tilted his head, raising his eyebrow, and Rachel rolled her eyes. "Sam is not gay; I don't care what you think."

"Just because you're in denial, it doesn't mean it's not true," Kurt stated.

"You just want him to be gay because you think he's cute," Rachel argued.

Kurt shrugged. "He isn't bad looking, but I don't know if he's my type. You're just letting your hope that he's the one cloud your judgment."

"And you're letting your need to be right cloud yours," Rachel replied.

"You would think with two fathers that your gaydar would be better," Kurt remarked.

"And you'd think that being gay would make yours better," Rachel retorted.

"Are we going to sing this song or what?" Kurt asked, tossing some sheet music down on top of the piano.

"Am I going to regret relinquishing the right to song selection to you?" Rachel asked, walking toward the piano.

Kurt picked up the top sheet and held it up for Rachel to see. "I would hope not."

"You Can't Stop the Beat," Rachel said with a smile.

"Since we're both fans of Hairspray, I thought it could be fun," Kurt replied. "I thought of going with something a little more classic, but the majority of the students at this school wouldn't know a classic song if their life depended on it, so I went with something a little more modern. Our goal is to get more members in to Glee Club, right?"

"It's a good idea," Rachel agreed.

"I know," Kurt said with a slight smirk.

"In the first section, I thought I would take Tracy's part and you—"

"Before we decide on that, I think we should bring in a few more members of the Glee Club," Rachel interrupted. "It is a rather fast song, after all, and we want it to be spectacular."

"What happened to us being the two best members?" Kurt asked.

"We are, but in this case, I think the more people, the better," Rachel replied. "With a song like this, we need to put on an energetic, large performance."

"Who did you have in mind?" Kurt asked.

"I think we should see if Brittany and Mike will help with the dancing side of the performance, and maybe Tina and Mercedes to help with the vocals. Actually, maybe we could ask Sam to participate as well."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"I don't mean for the reasons you are assuming," Rachel stated. "He's on the football team, so it wouldn't hurt for the rest of the student body to see him participating in Glee. Plus, I believe it would be best if I sing the opening to the song, and I need a male vocalist to accompany me. And I would obviously rather not sing with Finn at the moment."

"And what am I going to sing?" Kurt asked.

"I think you and Tina would sound wonderful together on Penny and Seaweed's part," Rachel answered. "I know it goes against our original plans, but the more I've thought about it, the more I think we need to put on a spectacular show that will make it impossible for anyone to ignore us. You know I'm a proponent of simple but powerful performances, but in this case, I do think bigger is better. We need people to take notice if they're going to want to be one of us."

Kurt looked reluctant, but he nodded. "I'll talk to Tina and Mercedes."

"And I'll ask Sam over coffee this afternoon," Rachel replied.

"You're really going to meet him?" Kurt asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Rachel asked back.

"It's only going to end in disaster for you," Kurt declared.

"You can't possibly know that," Rachel replied. "Sam seems perfectly nice, and whether or not he is the one I've been looking for, it's not as if it will be a waste of time. He is in Glee with us, and I really would like to get to know him."

It wasn't the reason she was doing it, but it wasn't a lie, either. If she hadn't seen the fortune teller, she would never have been bold enough to invite Sam to coffee, but it really would be nice to get to know him. She really didn't know why Kurt was so against this. Even if they didn't hit it off, it didn't mean it would necessarily be a disaster. For all he knew, she and Sam could find that they had a lot in common and become friends. Of course, she could find out that he was exactly like Puck—or worse, like Karofsky—but from her limited interaction with him, that really didn't appear to be the case.

"Do you like him?" Rachel asked, coming to a sudden realization.

"I've already told you he isn't exactly my type," Kurt said.

"Then why are you against us having coffee together?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not," Kurt replied. "I just don't want to see you hurt again. Not after I had to listen to you cry and complain half the summer over Finn. It was exhausting and I would rather not have to do it again."

Rachel shook her head, but didn't argue any further. She knew Kurt well enough to know when he was lying, and she didn't believe her friend for a moment.

* * *

><p>Rachel looked at the time on her phone for what was probably the dozenth time in the last fifteen minutes. She sighed as she wrapped her hands around her iced soy latte; Sam was late, and she was quickly beginning to think she was being stood up. He was exactly twenty-two minutes late, and she was losing hope that he would show up at all. Unfortunately, she had no way of contacting him to ask if everything was okay or if he was simply running late, so she continued to wait.<p>

As late as he was, she still hoped he would show up eventually. She really didn't want to tell Kurt the next day that he had never shown. Kurt would inevitably gloat about being right and Rachel didn't want to have to listen to him. Not only did she not want Kurt to be right, but she didn't want to go through the embarrassment that would probably follow. If Sam was standing her up, she figured he would tell the rest of the football team what he had done to her, and she really didn't want to be the subject of locker room ridicule.

When the bell above the door jangled, Rachel looked up. To her relief, it was finally Sam who was walking through the door. He paused just inside as he looked around; Rachel stood and waved when he began looking in her direction. It took him a moment, but he finally saw her and quickly walked over.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Sam said. "My mom called me at the end of school and asked if I'd run home and grab something for her because she had to work late. I tried to find you to let you know, but I didn't see you anywhere."

"That's quite alright," Rachel replied.

"I didn't want you to think that I wasn't gonna show up," Sam said. "I'm not, like, a person that lies or anything."

"It's okay, Sam," Rachel replied. "I understand and I accept your apology."

"Cool," Sam said, giving her a wide smile. "I'm gonna go get a drink. I'll be right back"

Rachel nodded and Sam walked off to the counter. As Rachel watched him go, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been stood up and Sam actually seemed genuinely sorry about being late. They may have not been off to a perfect start, but it certainly wasn't the disaster Kurt had predicted quite yet.

"So, how was your first few weeks at McKinley?" Rachel asked as Sam finally sat down with his enormous drink.

"A little weird," Sam said, shrugging. "My last school was an all-boys boarding school, so it's kinda weird having girls around all the time."

"I imagine that would be quite the change," Rachel commented.

"Yeah, but it's also kinda cool," Sam replied.

"Were you on the football team at your old school?" Rachel wondered.

Sam nodded with a smile. "I was quarterback. I'm hoping Coach Beiste will let play some so I can show her that I'm good."

Rachel knew Finn wasn't going to be happy about that, but it was no longer her place to warn him about Sam. If he wanted to try to fight Finn for the position of quarterback, he was well within his right. As much as Rachel cheered Finn on at his games, she was aware that he wasn't the best player in the world. The team lost more games than they won, and she knew quite a bit of that was due to him. Maybe with Sam at the helm, the Titans could have a winning season for the first time in years.

"I'm sure she will go with whoever is best," Rachel said.

"I hope so," Sam replied. "I know Finn's been here longer, but if I'm better, I should get to go in. It'd be like sending Alfred instead of Batman to kill the Joker just because he's been around longer."

"What?" Rachel asked, having no idea what Sam was talking about.

"Batman," Sam responded. "Have you never watched The Dark Knight?!"

"I think Finn tried to show me it once, but I fell asleep sometime during it," Rachel replied.

Sam's jaw dropped. "But that movie's the best. Tell me you've at least seen Avatar."

"I have not," Rachel replied.

"It's only the highest grossing movie of all time," Sam said, sounding as if he was in complete disbelief.

"Well, I don't necessarily equate box office numbers with how good a film is," Rachel stated. "Some of my favorite movies were only mediocre box office successes. For example—"

"But it's Avatar!" Sam interrupted.

"Maybe we should talk about something other than movies," Rachel said, hoping to get the conversation back on the right track. "What sort of music do you like?"

"I like a lot of stuff from the 80's and early 90's," Sam answered after a few moments. "Some late 70's. You know, Foreigner, Springsteen, Poison, Aerosmith."

"Oh," Rachel said, sighing to herself.

It was exactly the type of music Finn liked. It wasn't that she had anything against it, but she certainly didn't see the appeal of most of it. There were definitely worse things she could think of listening to, but nothing he named would ever be on her list of favorite songs.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be your type of music, but Kurt and I were going to perform You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray on Thursday, and we wondered if you would like to join us," Rachel said. "Kurt talked to Tina and Mercedes this afternoon and they both agreed to join us. Mr. Schue wants us to acquire new members and we thought performing a show-stopping number would be just the way to do it."

Sam shrugged and said. "Okay. I don't know the song or anything, but that sounds cool."

"Well, we're going to rehearse tomorrow after Glee," Rachel replied. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"I'll totally be there," Sam said, shaking his head.

* * *

><p>As soon as Rachel closed the front door to her house, she heard her father call out to her that they were in the kitchen. Before heading that way, she shrugged off her cardigan, hanging it in the entryway, and set her bag on the hallway table. As she finally walked toward the kitchen with her shoulders slightly slumped, she heard her phone chime, but she ignored it. She knew it was just going to be Kurt, asking how coffee went, and she really didn't feel like talking to him at the moment.<p>

"Hey, Sweetie," Leroy greeted, walking over to Rachel as she entered, and kissing her head. "How was school?"

"Not bad," Rachel answered with a shrug.

"But not good, either?" Leroy asked.

"I see you're wearing the same clothes you left in this morning, so it couldn't be too bad," Hiram commented.

Rachel sighed and said, "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been a little preoccupied this week."

"Oh, we've noticed," Leroy replied.

"You've not really been yourself since Friday or Saturday," Hiram said.

"We knew something must be wrong when you didn't want to participate in family game night, but we didn't want to pry," Leroy added. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing bad," Rachel quickly said, not wanting her fathers to worry over nothing.

"Something good, then?" Hiram asked.

"Kurt and I went to the new boutique on Main Street," Rachel said.

"Mystic Threads?," Leroy asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "Well, there is a fortune teller in the shop and Kurt talked me into getting my fortune told."

"I've always wanted to do that, but your father says it's a bunch of phooey," Hiram said, giving Leroy an annoyed look.

"Do you honestly believe someone can tell the future?" Leroy asked Hiram, putting his hands on his hips.

"I believe some people have gifts of clairvoyance, yes," Hiram said, mirroring his husband's stance.

"Guys, I was telling a story," Rachel said, stamping her foot on the ground.

"Sorry," her fathers said in unison.

"Anyway, Kurt convinced me to have my fortune told, and the reason I have been so distracted this past week is because she told me my true love is in Glee with me," Rachel explained.

"Oh no," Leroy said.

"It's not Finn, is it?" Hiram asked.

"She told me it would be a new love, so no, it's not Finn" Rachel said.

"Thank god," Leroy said, breathing a sigh of relief.

She was a little annoyed that they were so open about their dislike of Finn, but that was nothing new. Even when she was dating him, it was obvious that they thought she could do better. She wasn't even sure why they were so against him in the beginning. He may not have always been the perfect boyfriend, but he had his good side, and with a little growing up, she believed he could be a wonderful boyfriend. Of course, she understood their dislike of him now; it didn't exactly endure him to them when he broke up with her over the summer.

"So, who is your true love?" Hiram asked.

"You don't believe the fortune teller, do you?" Leroy asked.

"Actually, I do," Rachel answered. "She knew I lost my phone—"

"You lost another phone?" Leroy interrupted.

"But she also told me I was going to find it and I did," Rachel quickly added. "I know you're skeptical, but she was right about it. I'm also inclined to believe her because she wasn't showy at all. I was actually in and out in only a minute or two. If she was running a scam, wouldn't she put a little more work into it to convince people?"

"Could she have overheard you and Kurt," Leroy replied. "Or maybe she just asked you the right questions and told you what she thought you would want to hear."

"The only thing she asked was my name," Rachel said. "I believe it would be hard to know what I wanted to hear simply by knowing my first name."

"She's right, you know," Hiram said, looking at Leroy.

"To answer your question, I don't know who my true love is," Rachel stated. "I've been going through my options, but there aren't many, and I don't know how I feel about it being one of them. It's obviously not Kurt, I've never really felt any connection with Artie, Noah is a notorious womanizer, and Mike is in a relationship with Tina. There is also the new kid, Sam, who joined on Monday; we had coffee together after school today, but we have nothing in common."

"Is he cute?" Hiram asked.

"He could use a different hairstyle, but yes, he's very cute," Rachel replied. "So far, Artie is the only one I haven't had a chance to talk to this week. I've been narrowing down my list and he's the only name left on it. I hope to speak to him tomorrow, though, and if I don't think it's him, I'm going to have to start all over." Rachel sighed. "I really don't want to talk to Noah again."

"Maybe you should cross him off your list for good if you dread talking to him so much," Leroy advised.

"Or maybe I just need to come up with a new plan," Rachel said. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

"What do you want for dinner?" Hiram called after her as she began walking away.

"Surprise me," Rachel said over her shoulder.

Her mind was too busy to think of trivial things like what she wanted for dinner. She'd told herself that she would figure this all out by the end of the day on Friday, which meant she only had three days left. She needed to come up with a plan, because her previous one of talking to the boys one by one and narrowing them down wasn't working nearly as well as she hoped it would.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I was supposed to post this last night but totally forgot. Woops.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

As Rachel walked into McKinley High the next day, she glanced around for Artie. Finding him was her number one priority that day since he was the only Glee guy she had yet to talk to. She hoped to talk to him at lunch, but she knew she would at least see him that afternoon in the choir room. She really didn't want to wait until then, though; she wanted to solve this mystery as quickly as possibly because it was beginning to consume every thought she had.

She spent the previous night trying to come up with a new plan, but she'd had very little success. She thought about going up to each and every guy on her list and asking them if they harbored a secret love for her, but she didn't know how good the chances were that any of them would admit to it. And even if one of them did have feelings for her, that didn't mean they would be the one she was meant to be with. On top of that, the potential to humiliate herself was far too high. No, she was going to go about this as covertly as possible, and the only thing she could really think to do was talk to them and see if there was some spark on her part.

Rachel was so busy looking around for Artie that she didn't even notice she was about to run into Finn until she walked right into him. She stumbled back slightly and looked up in surprise, an apology about to leave her mouth when she saw that Finn was frowning down at her.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said after a few moments. "I'm afraid I wasn't watching where I was going and it was entirely my fault."

"I just talked to Puck after football practice," Finn said, still frowning.

"Alright," Rachel replied, having no idea where Finn was going with this.

"Did you go out with Sam yesterday?" Finn asked.

"Sam and I had coffee," Rachel answered.

"What the hell, Rachel?" Finn asked. "You're dating other guys now?"

"May I remind you that you are the one who broke up with me," Rachel replied. "It is no longer your business who I may or may not be dating. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be."

She bypassed him and began walking down the hallway, but she could hear his footsteps just behind her. She had no idea why he was so concerned if she'd been on a date with Sam. He certainly hadn't cared when he dumped her over the summer, and she knew for a fact that he had been on a date or two himself.

"Look," Finn said after following her halfway down the hall. "I'm sorry for breaking up with you. It was mistake and I really think we should try again."

"I'm not interested in trying again, Finn," Rachel replied.

"Why not?" Finn asked. "We're good together."

Once upon a time Rachel though so, too, but now she wasn't so sure. She still cared about Finn and she probably always would to some degree—he was the first person she'd loved, after all—but after he broke up with her for the second time, she began to see the flaws in the relationship. Mostly because Kurt had pointed out each and every one of them as he tried to tell her that maybe it was for the better that they were no longer a couple.

She and Finn didn't have nearly as much in common as she wished and he was never very supportive of her dreams. He was always complaining about one thing or another that she did and constantly tried to change her. Not to mention that he'd lied to her about sleeping with Santana when they were broken up the first time. She tried to look past it when they were together, but the longer they were broken up, the more she thought about their relationship. Especially now that she knew they weren't meant for each other. It really put things in perspective for her, and she was no longer going to jump at the first opportunity to be with him again like she would have before.

"We're not good together, Finn," Rachel argued. "If we were, you wouldn't have dumped me twice. I would be more important than your popularity and you would actually support me rather than agreeing with everyone else. One day we'll both find the people we're meant to be with, but it's not each other."

"How do you know?" Finn asked.

"Because I do," Rachel stated.

"People can change," Finn replied. "We can be better for each other. I'll support you or whatever. I want to be with you and I think you want to be with me, too."

"I'm sorry, Finn, but my answer is no," Rachel said as she stopped by her locker and began entering the combination. "I can forgive you, but that doesn't mean we are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend again. I'm willing to be your friend because I do still care about you, but that's all we can be."

"We're not over," Finn said, shaking his head.

"We are," Rachel firmly replied.

"So, what, you're going to start dating Sam now?" Finn asked.

"I don't know who I'm going to date," Rachel replied as she began pulling out the books for her first few classes. "Maybe I won't date anyone for a while or maybe I'll find someone tomorrow. Whatever the case, it's none of your business."

Rachel shut her locker and turned on her heel, walking away from Finn. Thankfully, he didn't follow her this time because she was more than a little annoyed with his behavior. She couldn't believe his nerve; after breaking up with her out of nowhere, he was now angry at the possibility of her dating someone new. And even after making it clear that they were not getting back together, he was still telling her they weren't over.

But she knew better; they _were_ over, and there was someone else out there for her. She just needed to figure out who it was.

* * *

><p>Rachel was on her way to the cafeteria for lunch when she rounded the corner and saw Artie wheeling toward her. It was the first time she'd seen him that day other than catching a glimpse of him as she walked by his class, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. Since it was lunchtime, she would have plenty of time to talk to him without worrying about the bell ringing in the middle of their conversation.<p>

"Hello, Artie," Rachel said, giving him her biggest smile.

"Hey," Artie said, giving her a skeptical look.

"I was wondering if I could discuss something with you," Rachel said as she stopped in front of him.

"What do you want to talk about?" Artie asked.

"I realized last night that you and I have never really sung together in Glee," Rachel said. "I mean, we've participated in group numbers together, but we've never done a duet together."

"Okay," Artie replied.

"I was wondering if you would like to sing a duet with me," Rachel said.

"Why?" Artie asked, still looking very skeptical.

"Because I think our voices would go very well together," Rachel replied. "Not this week, of course—it's far too late in the week to give us adequate time to prepare—but I was thinking maybe next week."

"I don't know," Artie said. "Why don't we see what next week's assignment is first?"

Artie began to wheel himself around her and Rachel frowned. She'd hoped that would go a lot better than it did. After all, who wouldn't want the chance to sing a duet with her? She was by far the most talented singer in the club, and she would think anyone would jump at the opportunity.

"Wait a moment!" Rachel called out, noticing Artie's shoulder slump slightly before he turned to look at her.

"What is it?" Artie asked.

"I believe I may have gone about this the wrong way," Rachel said. "I would really love it if we could do a duet together. I believe our voices would blend very well together, and maybe if Mr. Schue thinks so, he'll give us the duet for Sectionals." Rachel smiled. "You would like a solo at the competition, right?"

"I'll think about it," Artie said before turning around again and going off down the hall.

Rachel sighed to herself; she really thought he would agree if she brought up Sectionals. Of course, maybe he wasn't as ambitious as she was and didn't really care if he got a solo. Rachel, on the other hand, would do just about anything to continue her streak of being the star of the competition. Not everyone could be the star, though, and maybe Artie just didn't want to be the focus of everyone's attention. Rachel couldn't imagine why anyone _wouldn't _want that—she lived for that—but she supposed it made some people nervous.

"What were you talking to Artie about?"

Rachel jumped at the sound of Tina's voice behind her and turned around to find the other girl looking at her curiously. "I was simply discussing the possibility of Artie and I performing a duet together."

"You've never been interested in dueting with Artie before," Tina stated.

"Well, we've both been in the Glee Club since the very first day and I thought it was time I get to know Artie a little better," Rachel replied.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Tina asked. "You've been acting strange all week, and now you're talking to Artie, who I really can't remember you ever talking to before."

"There's a first time for everything," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Tina asked, obviously not believing her.

"What makes you think something is going on?" Rachel asked back.

"Mike told me he thought you were hitting on him the other day," Tina stated.

"That's preposterous," Rachel lied. "Not that Mike isn't very good looking, but he has you, and I would never think of trying to break you two up even if I was interested in him, which I'm not. I was merely offering him vocal lessons in return for him helping me with my dancing. I'm sorry if he got the wrong impression."

Rachel had really hoped Mike wouldn't tell Tina about their conversation, but as with everything else that'd happened that week, things had not gone her way. At least Tina didn't seem angry with her, and Rachel really did feel foolish for ever trying in the first place. She was certainly not going to try it again; Mike was off her list for good.

"I also saw you talking to that new kid," Tina said.

"I was welcoming him to the club," Rachel quickly replied.

Tina's eyebrow rose slightly. "Are you looking for a new boyfriend?"

"I am not looking for a boyfriend," Rachel replied.

Even though she considered Tina a friend, she really didn't want to tell her about seeing the fortune teller. She had a feeling she would be just a skeptical as Kurt, and Rachel didn't want to have to try to convince her that the woman was genuine. Plus, she was bound to tell Mercedes, who would probably tell everyone else about it, and Rachel didn't feel like the inevitable ridicule from Santana and Quinn.

"Are you still going to participate in the performance of You Can't Stop the Beat?" Rachel asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah," Tina replied. "We're meeting after Glee, right?"

"That's correct," Rachel said with a nod. "Now, if we don't get to the cafeteria soon, we won't have time to eat."

"I know what you're doing," Tina stated.

"That's doesn't mean I'm not right," Rachel replied. "Our lunch period isn't nearly long enough. Maybe they think everyone inhales their food like the members of the football team."

Tina laughed lightly. "Maybe."

As they silently began walking together to the cafeteria, Rachel was thankful Tina was dropping the questioning for now. She doubted it would last for very long, but maybe she could come up with a plausible explanation before Tina started asking her questions again.

* * *

><p>When Rachel walked into the choir room that afternoon it was completely empty except for Quinn, who was sitting near the back with a book in her hands. Rachel briefly wondered what she was reading, but she knew better than to ask. So, instead of saying anything, she took her usual seat at the front of the room and fought the urge to look over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the front of the book.<p>

It felt like several minutes had passed before Sam strolled in, giving Rachel a light smile. She smiled back at him in acknowledgement before looking down at her hands again as she waited for the rest of the Glee Club to arrive. One by one, everyone finally began to stroll in, and Rachel looked at the time. She didn't know why her peers were incapable of being there on time. Of course, Mr. Schue was perpetually late, so they didn't exactly have the best example to follow.

"Planning your next victim?" Kurt asked as he took a seat next to her.

"I believe the word 'victim' is a bit harsh," Rachel responded.

"Fine, your next target," Kurt said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Will you keep your voice down," Rachel whispered, looking around to make sure they hadn't been overheard.

The last thing she wanted was for someone to find out what she was doing. She knew some people were already suspicious of her and thought she was acting strangely. If the guys found out what she was doing, she was certain they would begin avoiding her, and how would she figure out who it was if none of them would even talk to her?

"And I don't know what I'm doing now," Rachel continued in a whisper.

"You could just come out and ask everyone if they're secretly in love with you," Kurt said back.

Rachel shook her head. "I need to be more subtle than that, but speaking with the guys doesn't appear to be getting me anywhere." She sighed. "I really thought it would be easier than this."

Kurt reached out and patted her leg, and she appreciated that he didn't voice his disbelief in the fortune teller once again, though she could tell he wanted to. Rachel didn't doubt the psychic, however, and it wasn't just because she knew about Rachel's phone; she felt it in her gut that the woman was speaking the truth. There was someone out there waiting for her—quite possibly in the room with her at that very moment—and she just needed to figure out who it was.

"Alright, guys, Finn just told me he's prepared something for us!" Mr. Schue said, walking in with Finn just behind him.

"How cute," Santana sarcastically said. "Maybe Finn will wow us with his dancing."

"I would like to dedicate this to a special someone," Finn said, turning a bit red from Santana's comment, but otherwise ignoring her.

Rachel look at the band as the music began and she easily recognized it as one of her fathers' favorites. Much to her surprise, when she looked back to Finn, he was smiling at her as he started singing directly to her.

"_It's undeniable that we should be together  
><em>_It's unbelievable how I used to say that I'd fall never  
><em>_The basis is need to know if you don't know just how I feel  
><em>_Then let me show you now that I'm for real  
><em>_If all things in time, time will reveal, yeah"_

Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Finn kept all of his attention on her. It wasn't the first time Finn had sung to her, but those had been under very different circumstances. They were dating then and she thought it was very romantic. This was just awkward.

"_One, you're like a dream come true  
><em>_Two, just wanna be with you  
><em>_Three, girl, it's plain to see  
><em>_That you're the only one for me"_

Rachel glanced over at Kurt, who looked embarrassed as well. She could hear snickering behind her and had no doubt that it was Santana. Finn seemed to take no notice of it, or if he did, he was ignoring it.

"_And four, repeat steps one through three  
><em>_Five, make you fall in love with me  
><em>_If ever I believe my work is done  
><em>_Then I'll start back at one, yeah yeah"_

When Rachel glanced over her shoulder, she caught sight of Puck making a rude gesture toward Finn. She frowned at him, though he wasn't paying any attention to her disapproval. A row above him, Rachel caught sight of Quinn with a frown on her face, and Rachel wondered if Quinn had been making plans to get Finn back and if that's why she looked so unhappy and annoyed.

"_It's so incredible, the way things work themselves out  
><em>_And all emotional once you know what it's all about, hey  
><em>_And undesirable for us to be apart  
><em>_I never would've made it very far  
><em>'_Cause you know you got the keys to my heart"_

The song felt like it had gone on forever, and she was thankful that it was finally coming to a close. As much as she normally liked being the center of attention, she could really do without it at the moment. Not only had Finn been staring at her the whole time, but she could feel everyone else looking at her, and she just wanted it to end.

"_One, you're like a dream come true  
><em>_Two, just wanna be with you  
><em>_Three, girl, it's plain to see  
><em>_That you're the only one for me_

"_And four, repeat steps one through three  
><em>_Five, make you fall in love with me  
><em>_If ever I believe my work is done  
><em>_Then I'll start back at one"_

"Rachel, I want you to know that I'm sorry about how I broke up with you, and I want a second chance," Finn said as soon as the band stopped playing. "Will you go on a date with me Friday night?"

Finn looked so hopeful, and Rachel really wished he hadn't chosen to do this in front of everyone. "I'm sorry, Finn, but no."

"What?" Finn said, his face dropping.

"I told you this morning that we're over," Rachel replied. "Your performance, however well intentioned, doesn't change that. I'm sorry, but that's my final answer, Finn."

"Okay, does anyone else have anything they'd like to sing?" Mr. Schue loudly said.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Finn, but no," Rachel said yet again.<p>

"Come on," Finn begged. "You're going to make me look like an idiot in front of everyone."

"You're the one who chose to ask me out in front of everyone after I already declined your advances this morning," Rachel pointed out.

"I know, but I thought you'd say yes," Finn replied.

Rachel sighed; she may feel bad for Finn, but he was beginning to get on her nerves. The moment Glee was over, he had come up to her and tried to get her to change her mind once again. She thought she was being perfectly clear that she had no desire to try again with him, but he didn't seem to hear what she was saying. Which was one of their problems when they were dating. She was well aware that he often just pretended to listen when she was speaking to him.

"Just one date," Finn pleaded.

Rachel shook her head. "We've given our relationship plenty of chances; it's over."

"Fine," Finn huffed.

As Finn roughly grabbed his backpack, Rachel sighed. She really didn't want to hurt Finn, but he needed to understand that things were over between them. She wasn't going to give him false hope; she knew he would only get hurt more if she did.

"Are you coming to the auditorium?" Kurt asked as he walked up to her, having given her and Finn some space.

"Will you let everyone know I'll be there in a moment, please?" Rachel said.

Kurt nodded and then turned, but quickly turned back around and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rachel answered. "I just wish Finn would accept that things are really over between us."

"He'll get it eventually," Kurt replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Rachel gave him a sad smile, and Kurt turned to leave the room, leaving her alone with Mr. Schue and Quinn. The former was packing up his briefcase while Quinn was talking on the phone, and judging by the tone of her voice, Rachel guessed Quinn was talking to her mom.

"Where are you guys doing your performance?" Mr. Schue asked, looking up at her.

"The courtyard," Rachel answered. "Since so many people mill about there before school officially starts, we thought it would be the best place. The cafeteria at lunch was suggested, but there is far too much opportunity for people's lunches to be thrown at us, and none of us want that."

"Let everyone know I'm excited to see it," Mr. Schue said, giving her a smile before he departed.

"You turned Finn down," Quinn stated, surprising Rachel since she thought the blonde was still on the phone.

"Yes," Rachel said, reaching down to pick up her bag.

"Why?" Quinn asked.

"Because I'm not interested in rekindling our relationship," Rachel replied.

"Is Rachel Berry finally learning?" Quinn said as she walked down the risers, passing by Rachel.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked.

"It means a rock learns faster than you," Quinn said, turning to face Rachel.

Rachel frowned. "I resent that."

"Finn breaks up with you and then when he realizes no other girl wants him, you take him back," Quinn said. "How many times has it happened in the last year? Three? He says he's sorry even though he's only sorry he couldn't find someone else, and you forgive him. He keeps breaking your heart and you let him."

Rachel wanted to protest, but Quinn was right. It had happened far too many times, and she forgave him every time because she was lonely and she hoped he could change. But he never changed; his popularity was more important to him than their relationship, and deep down, she knew it always would be. It hurt, of course, but now that she knew there was someone else out there for her, it hurt a little less.

"Well, that isn't going to happen anymore," Rachel stated. "Finn and I are over. For good this time."

Quinn's eyebrow rose. "I guess we'll see."

"I can assure you, Quinn, that I am in no longer interested in anything except friendship with Finn," Rachel stated. "If you're thinking of rekindling your relationship with him, I promise you that I will not try to come between you two."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Maybe you haven't learned anything."

"It's not crazy to assume the reason you're talking to me is because you want to date Finn again and you thought you would see where I stood with him," Rachel replied. "He was your first love, after all."

"I didn't love Finn," Quinn said.

"Regardless, he is very popular and can be very sweet sometimes," Rachel replied. "I'm simply saying I could see why you would be interested in reconciling with Finn."

"I'm not," Quinn stated.

"Well—that's fine, too," Rachel said.

Rachel was a little thrown. She wasn't really sure why Quinn came up to her unless she was interested in getting Finn back, but Rachel trusted her when she said that wasn't the case. They may have had their issues in the past, but Quinn was almost always truthful with her. Even when she really didn't want to hear the truth.

Rachel frowned and suddenly asked, "What did you mean when you said maybe I haven't learned anything?"

"Nothing, Berry," Quinn said before turning around.

Rachel wanted to call out to Quinn and ask her again what she meant, but she stood there silently as she watched her walk out of the room.

* * *

><p>As Rachel called for a break and watched everyone disperse, she rubbed her temples. Rehearsals weren't going nearly as well as she'd hoped, and she was beginning to get a little frustrated. Everything needed to be perfect if they were going to get anyone to join the Glee Club, and things were far from perfect at the moment.<p>

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Kurt asked.

"This isn't going how I hoped," Rachel said.

"It is a little rough," Kurt agreed. "And it's unfortunate that Sam isn't a very good dancer."

"At least his voice isn't bad," Rachel replied. "He could certainly use some work, though."

"If you'll excuse me, I need to hydrate," Kurt said, nudging his shoulder into hers.

As Kurt walked away, Rachel looked around and noticed Mike standing by himself. She glanced around for Tina, but the other girl was nowhere in sight, so Rachel headed over to him. They may be working on their performance, but that didn't mean she couldn't multitask and work on her other project. Even though she'd decided Mike was off her list, she was beginning to get desperate, and she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to speak with him again.

"Hello, Mike," Rachel greeted.

"No," Mike said.

Rachel frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"No," Mike repeated.

"No what?" Rachel asked.

"Tina told me to just say no," Mike replied.

Rachel looked around again for Tina, but the other girl must have gone to the restroom. When she looked back at Mike, he had taken a few steps away from her.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Rachel said in confusion. "I didn't ask a question."

"I don't know what you're up to and neither does Tina, but I don't want to be a part of it," Mike stated.

"I was simply saying hello," Rachel lied.

"Hi, but no," Mike said, ducking his head, and quickly retreating from her.

Rachel frowned and put her hands on her hips as she watched Mike walk as far away as possible without leaving the stage. She was used to people not wanting to talk to her—even those she considered friends—but she had never experienced quite that reaction before.

"What in the world did you say to Mike?" Mercedes asked, coming up to her.

"I said 'hello'," Rachel answered.

"Girl, he walked away from you like you set his pants on fire," Mercedes said with a laugh.

Rachel sighed. "I think he had to go find Tina."

It was probably the truth; he was leaving the stage and walking down the aisle toward the door, probably off to find his girlfriend. Rachel just hoped Tina didn't confront her about speaking with Mike. After all, she didn't do anything other than greet him, and she actually wasn't going to flirt with him or anything. She just wanted to see what type of connection they had. She hadn't spoken a lot to Mike in the year they had been in Glee together, and she wanted to change that.

"Hey, Rachel," Sam said, jogging up to her.

"I'll give you two some time," Mercedes lightly said, raising her eyebrows in a conspiratory way.

"Hey, how long do you think we're gonna be here?" Sam asked. "I mean, this is cool and all, but I told my mom I'd watch my brother and sister when she makes dinner. It's kinda hard for her because my little brother can be hyper and he likes to run around the kitchen if there's no one else there to play with him."

"I didn't know you had siblings," Rachel commented.

"Yeah," Sam said, smiling widely. "Stevie and Stacey. My little brother's nine and my sister is seven."

"It's sweet that you help your mom with them," Rachel commented.

Sam blushed slightly and he shrugged. "She works hard and I like to give her a break sometimes. It's not a big deal."

She didn't want to make Sam break his promise to his mom, but she knew how much work they still had to do. It was so important that they get some new members into the Glee Club. With their current numbers they couldn't even compete, and that would be a complete disaster.

"Well, can you stay another hour?" Rachel asked. "I'll see how it's going then, and if our performance isn't where I hope it will be, we can simply meet back here before school."

Sam nodded. "I can do that."

"Wonderful!" Rachel brightly said.

Rachel looked around, hoping everyone was back in the auditorium, but Tina and Kurt were both still gone. She told them a five minute break, but it was quickly becoming a ten minute break. Now that they had much less time than she thought, it was imperative that everyone get back on time, but that was obviously not going to happen. Her only hope was that everyone showed up in the next minute so they didn't waste even more time.

"When can we go?" Brittany asked from the middle of the stage, looking directly at Rachel.

"Just another hour," Rachel answered.

"Lord Tubbington hates it when his dinner's late," Brittany said. "He gets lightheaded when he's hungry."

"Well—you'll be back in plenty of time to give Lord Tubbington his dinner," Rachel replied, trying to hide the confusion she often felt when Brittany spoke, and then she shrugged. "You know what—why don't we get started? I know Kurt and Tina are still away, but I'm sure they can easily catch up once they get back."

When she looked over her shoulder, Sam gave her a smile, which she returned with a soft smile of her own. Even though she still didn't feel that spark between them, she began to wonder if maybe she'd judged Sam too harshly during their coffee date. And even if Sam turned out not to be the one, maybe she could at least find a new friend.

* * *

><p><strong>The song was Back at One by Brian McKnight.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As Rachel hurried toward the football field, she looked around, making sure she wasn't seen as she slipped behind the bleachers. For a moment she thought she may have been seen by Coach Sylvester as she looked over her shoulder, but the older woman faced forward and began barking orders at the Cheerios, just as Coach Beiste was doing on the other side of the field to the football team.

Rachel slowly worked her way to the other side, careful not to trip over any of the metal beams that held up the bleachers. When she was near the other end, she stopped and looked through the steps, observing the football team as they ran back and forth between two spots on the field. She had no idea what the point in it was or how it would prepare them for a football game, but their new football coach seemed intent on improving their time if her shouting at them was anything to go by.

Finn and Sam were standing side by side at the edge of the field while Mike was stretching and Puck was making obscene gestures every time their coach looked away. Rachel shook her head at the action, wondering what Coach Beiste would do to him if she caught him in the act. She imagined it would involve a lot of yelling, though.

When she looked back to Finn and Sam, the latter was talking animatedly about something, but Finn didn't look at that enthusiastic about it. She wondered if it was because he didn't care about whatever Sam was talking about or if it was just because he didn't like Sam very much. And she knew it was probably because she had gone to the Lima Bean with Sam, though she really didn't understand how Finn could have such a problem with it. He dumped her, after all. She had been perfectly content with their relationship; he was the one who decided he no longer wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

She looked at her phone and knew it wouldn't be too long before practice let out. She had intended on getting there a little earlier to observe Sam and Puck, but her plans had been a little derailed when she woke up to her clock blinking. Apparently the power had gone out at some point in the middle of the night, so her internal clock woke her up at her usual time even though she'd set the alarm to go off earlier than usual.

She wanted to speak with Sam before school began in hopes that she could get to know him a little better. Since he was a sophomore, she didn't have any classes with him, and it was hard to speak with him at lunch since there were so many other people around. Her plan was to pretend as if she wanted to talk about their upcoming performance, and then segue into more personal topics. She just hoped Finn didn't come over and try to insert himself into the conversation.

The moment Coach Beiste dismissed them, Rachel began making her way toward the end of the bleachers, glancing at the field as she went along. Sam was jogging toward the school at a rather quick pace, so Rachel hurried along. Just as she stepped out from under the bleachers, though, the football coach called out Sam's name and he stopped in his tracks and then began jogging back across the field, causing Rachel to sigh.

"Hey," Finn said the moment he noticed she was standing next to the bleachers.

"Hello, Finn," Rachel greeted.

"Did you, like, want to talk to me or something?" Finn asked.

"Actually, I wanted to discuss something with Sam," Rachel said, looking over at the blond haired boy, wishing he would hurry.

"Sam?" Finn asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied. "Several members of the Glee Club, including Sam and myself, are performing for the school before the first bell, and I wanted to be sure he's prepared."

"Oh," Finn said, slightly furrowing his eyebrows. "Okay."

"Noah!" Rachel impulsively called out when she saw him passing by. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

She hadn't planned on talking to him, but since Sam was tied up, she didn't want to waste the opportunity. She was here, after all, and she had only spoken to Puck once. Of course, that one time was really more than enough for her.

"What do you want?" Puck asked when he stopped next to Finn.

"I—wanted to ask if you read the assignment for Miss Jackson's class," Rachel lied.

"Do I look like I ever do the assigned reading?" Puck asked. "I haven't read anything for class since sixth grade."

Rachel frowned. "How do you pass your subjects."

"I wing it," Puck said with a shrug. "It's worked out so far, so I ain't about to change now."

"I can't imagine your grades are very good," Rachel remarked. "Maybe if you put a little more effort into your schoolwork, you could do more than just pass."

"What, like, study?" Puck asked. "That's for wussies. I got my pool cleaning business; I don't need to waste my time with all that other crap."

"Maybe I could be your tutor," Rachel suggested.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Puck asked.

"Yes, but I really think you could excel in school if you put your mind to it," Rachel replied. "Don't you want to get out of Lima one day? That's going to be hard if you don't have a college education."

"Why do you care if Puck gets out of Lima?" Finn asked, still standing by.

"Because he's in the Glee Club," Rachel said. "I would like to see us all succeed." She looked at Finn. "I don't just want all my dreams to come true, you know."

"So you're gonna tutor Puck?" Finn asked.

"If he would like my help, yes," Rachel replied.

"I don't need your help," Puck stated.

"But—"

Rachel sighed as Puck began walking away. Things had really not been going her way this week.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?"<p>

Rachel jumped; she wasn't expecting Quinn to be there when she turned the corner, but there the blonde was, leaning against the wall. And she didn't look very happy if the scowl on her face was any indication. As she pushed off the wall and walked toward her, Rachel tried to think of what she could have possibly done to upset Quinn. Not that she usually had to do much; she seemed to have a way of irritating Quinn just by existing.

"What do you mean what am I doing?" Rachel asked, squaring her shoulders.

"I saw you talking to Puck," Quinn stated.

"Oh," Rachel said. "I was simply offering my services if he ever decides he would like someone to tutor him."

"Why?" Quinn asked.

"Because I don't like to see my fellow Glee members struggling," Rachel answered.

It wasn't a total lie—she didn't like to see anyone struggling—but that didn't stop her voice from wavering slightly, which caused Quinn to narrow her eyes.

"I don't believe you," Quinn said. "What were you really doing with Puck?"

"You may not believe me, but I was doing exactly what I said I was doing," Rachel replied. "You can ask Noah or Finn."

"Fine," Quinn said, stepping closer to Rachel. "Why were you offering to tutor him?"

"I-I already told you—"

"And you were lying," Quinn interrupted.

"I wasn't," Rachel argued.

"You're a terrible liar, Berry," Quinn said.

"I happen to think I'm a very good liar," Rachel replied. "Not that I'm lying in this instance, but lying is all about acting, and what kind of future Broadway star would I be if I couldn't act?"

"What are you really doing with Puck?" Quinn asked again.

"I've already told you," Rachel replied. "It's not my fault if you don't believe me."

Rachel spun on her heal, but stopped when Quinn called after her, "Stay away from him."

"I'm sorry, Quinn, but you can't tell me what to do," Rachel said as she turned to face Quinn. "I understand that you have a history with Noah, but—"

Quinn scoffed, and Rachel immediately closed her mouth. She didn't know if the blonde's reaction was because she was wrong or if it was because Quinn thought she was going to bring up Beth. She figured Quinn should know better than that, though. She would never bring her up so callously; even though Quinn never spoke about it, Rachel knew she was still hurting over giving up her daughter. Besides, even if she didn't try to be sensitive to Quinn's feelings, Rachel didn't exactly like being reminded that Shelby had replaced her so easily with a new baby girl.

"Just stay away, okay?" Quinn said. "You don't want Noah Puckerman to ruin your life."

Rachel frowned slightly as Quinn walked past her. She didn't know if Quinn was showing concern or if it was selfishly motivated. She wanted to ask, but like a lot of times with Quinn, she kept her questions to herself. She knew if she pushed Quinn, she would destroy any progress she'd made with her over the past year.

"What was that about?" Kurt asked, walking toward her as he glanced over his shoulder at Quinn.

"I'm not certain," Rachel replied.

"So, how'd it go this morning?" Kurt asked.

"Not well," Rachel said with a sigh as she began walking toward her locker. "Coach Beiste kept Sam behind, so I was unable to speak with him. However, I did talk to Noah again, but I didn't get anywhere. Plus, Finn was standing there."

"Awkward," Kurt singsonged.

"Very," Rachel agreed.

"You know he moped around the house all night, right?" Kurt remarked. "And when I got home he was listening to country music."

"Why country music?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows.

Kurt shrugged. "I guess it's the music of pain."

"Hopefully he gets over it sooner rather than later," Rachel commented. "I don't like to see him hurting, but I'm not going to accept a date from him simply to spare his feelings. He certainly didn't attempt to spare mine when he dumped me. He needs to just accept the fact that we're over and move on."

"You know that isn't going to happen," Kurt replied. "He wants something until he gets it, and then he doesn't want it anymore. Now that he can't have you, he's going to pine."

Rachel sighed; she hoped Kurt was wrong, but something told her he wasn't. "I can't think about this right now. We have a performance, and I need to focus on that. This has to go perfectly, after all. I'm not going to be the one who messes it up because I was too busy thinking of other things."

"If anyone is going to mess it up, it's going to be Sam," Kurt said.

"I agree he's a little—" Rachel paused, trying to think of a nice way to put it, "inexperienced, but he was getting better by the end and he _did _say he would practice once he got home."

"And you believe him?" Kurt asked.

"Well, I doubt he wants to embarrass himself in front of the school, so, yes, I do," Rachel replied.

"Do you really think this will work?" Kurt asked.

"I hope so," Rachel replied. "I know the school has seen us perform before and it hasn't made everyone want to join, but I'm confident that they'll change their minds once they see how far we've come. If nothing else, the fact that Nationals are in New York City this year should make people want to join."

"It doesn't matter where Nationals are if we don't get there," Kurt remarked.

"We'll get to Nationals," Rachel promised. "I refuse to fail this year."

* * *

><p>"Okay, everyone, let's go out there and knock their socks off," Rachel said, turning to the group.<p>

"Wouldn't that be really smelly?" Brittany asked.

"Figuratively," Rachel said, though she didn't know if the Cheerio knew the meaning of the word.

As soon as the band began, Rachel could see the confused faces of many of the crowd. She glanced over at Sam, who gave her a nod, and then Rachel took a step forward as she began singing the opening to the song.

"_You can't stop an avalanche  
><em>_As it races down the hill  
><em>_You can try to stop the seasons,  
><em>_But you know you never will  
><em>_And you can try to stop my dancin' feet  
><em>_But I just cannot stand still"_

People no longer look confused. Some looked annoyed and she saw a few eye rolls, but she was focusing on the ones who looked interested in what they were doing. All they needed was for one of those people to join and they would have the twelve needed to compete at Sectionals. And if they happened to get even more people who wanted to be a part of New Directions, that would just be a bonus.

"_Cause the world keeps spinnin'  
><em>_Round and round  
><em>_And my heart's keeping time  
><em>_To the speed of sound  
><em>_I was lost till I heard the drums  
><em>_Then I found my way  
><em>_Cause you can't stop the beat"_

Sam's voice was a little shaky as he stepped up to her and began singing along with her. She knew it was his first time singing in front of such a large crowd, though, so it was understandable. And, much to Rachel's happiness, Sam actually remembered the choreography. She knew they could have been a little more in sync, but she didn't think it was overly noticeable.

"_Ever since this old world began  
><em>_A woman found out if she shook it  
><em>_She could shake up a man  
><em>_And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it  
><em>_The best that I can today  
><em>_Cause you can't stop  
><em>_The motion of the ocean  
><em>_Or the sun in the sky  
><em>_You can wonder if you wanna  
><em>_But I never ask why  
><em>_If you try to hold me down  
><em>_I'm gonna spit in your eye and say  
><em>_That you can't stop the beat!"_

Sam spun Rachel around as they moved aside for Kurt and Tina to take center stage. They had more people's attention now, and Rachel looked around the crowd, trying to determine who looked especially interested while still dancing around with Sam. There was no choreography to what they were doing—they decided to freestyle it so they didn't have to rehearse even more—so she didn't have to focus on anything but the crowd.

"_You can't stop a river  
><em>_As it rushes to the sea  
><em>_You can try to stop the hands of time  
><em>_But you know it just can't be  
><em>_And if they try to stop us Tina,  
><em>_I'll call the N Double A C P"_

Brittany and Mike joined Kurt and Tina while Rachel and Sam continued to stay to the side. Rachel was happy to see that their dancing was almost completely in unison. All their hard work seemed like it was paying off, and she couldn't help but smile.

"_Cause the world keeps spinning  
><em>_Round and round  
><em>_And my heart's keeping time  
><em>_To the speed of sound  
><em>_I was lost til I heard the drums  
><em>_Then I found my way  
><em>_Cause you can't stop the beat"_

As Kurt and Tina continued singing, Rachel looked into the crowd once again and a girl sitting at a table to the side caught her eye. She was nodding her head and singing along, and Rachel made a mental note to find her later if the girl didn't approach them herself. When Sam spun her around again, Rachel lost sight of her, and when she looked for her again, she was distracted by Quinn. The blonde had her arms crossed over her chest and was staring at Sam rather intently. Surprisingly, Finn was standing only a few feet away from the Cheerio with almost the exact same expression and body language.

"_Ever since we first saw the light  
><em>_A man and woman liked to shake it  
><em>_On a Saturday night  
><em>_So I'm gonna shake and shimmy it  
><em>_With all my might today  
><em>'_Cause you can't stop  
><em>_The motion of the ocean  
><em>_Or the rain from above  
><em>_You can try to stop the paradise  
><em>_We're dreamin' of  
><em>_But you cannot stop the rhythm  
><em>_Of two hearts in love to stay  
><em>_Cause you can't stop the beat!"_

Rachel was so busy looking at Quinn and Finn that she nearly missed her cue to run back in. Thankfully, Sam grabbed her hand and they took their places just as Mercedes began singing. Rachel was trying to concentrate on the dancing, but she found herself glancing over to Quinn and Finn every few seconds.

"_You can't stop today  
><em>_As it comes speeding down the track  
><em>_Child, yesterday is history  
><em>_And it's never coming back  
><em>_Cause tomorrow is a brand new day  
><em>_And it don't know white from black"_

As Kurt joined in with Mercedes, Rachel forced herself to look away from Quinn and Finn and put on her best show-smile. They were there to get new members, and that was what she needed to focus on. Getting distracted by other things would only bring down their performance, and she couldn't let that happen. Not when it was so important.

"_Cause the world keeps spinning  
><em>_Round and round  
><em>_And my heart's keeping time  
><em>_To the speed of sound  
><em>_I was lost til I heard the drums  
><em>_Then I found my way  
><em>'_Cause you can't stop the beat"_

Everyone joined in, singing the final chorus, and Rachel looked over at Kurt, giving him a smile. She really couldn't be happier with how their performance was going, and judging by the smile he gave her back, he was happy with it, too.

"_Ever since we first saw the light  
><em>_A man and woman liked to shake it  
><em>_On a Saturday night  
><em>_And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it  
><em>_With all my might today  
><em>_Cause you can't stop  
><em>_The motion of the ocean  
><em>_Or the rain from above  
><em>_They can try to stop the paradise  
><em>_We're dreaming of  
><em>_But you cannot stop the rhythm  
><em>_Of two hearts in love to stay  
><em>_You can't stop the beat!_

"_You can't stop the beat!  
><em>_You can't stop the beat!  
><em>_You can't stop the beat!  
><em>_You can't stop the beat!"_

There was a smattering of applause when the song ended, but Rachel was used to it by now. The McKinley High student body had never appreciated their performances. She didn't need them to, though; she just needed one person to, and she was confident they had succeeded in doing that.

* * *

><p>The adrenaline from performing had lasted long after Rachel left the courtyard. It went better than she could have imagined, and she was certain she would be approached at any time from students clamoring to join New Directions. It hadn't happened so far, but she was very optimistic that it would happen before the end of the day. Then again, maybe people were too shy for that; maybe they would simply show up at the choir room the next day.<p>

As she was heading for the cafeteria, Rachel spotted Artie in the hallway. After the performance, she'd momentarily forgotten about her mission, but now she needed to get back on task. She felt as if she'd been running in circles and was getting nowhere, and she needed to change that. She just didn't know how she was going to do that unless she began to be more overt in her search, and she didn't necessarily want to do that.

"Artie!" Rachel called out.

She could visibly see his shoulders rise and fall before he turned around to face her. "What?"

"I just wanted to say hello," Rachel said, a taken aback by his tone of voice.

She'd never been friends with Artie, but they had at least always been civil to each other. They were both often targets for the more popular students, so Rachel always felt a certain kinship with him even if they didn't speak often. Right now, however, Artie sounded as if it physically pained him to stop and talk to her.

"Hey," Artie replied in a monotone voice.

"Did you see our performance?" Rachel asked, trying to keep things light.

"No," Artie said.

"Oh," Rachel replied. "That's too bad. I think it went quite well; one of our best, actually."

"Anyone joined yet?" Artie asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Rachel replied. "I'm certain they will, though."

Artie nodded, but he still didn't look very interested in talking to her. In fact, he kept looking over his shoulder like he was longing to get away from her, which made Rachel think he was definitely not harboring some secret crush on her. Then again, judging by all the guys' reaction toward her, it didn't appear as if anyone was. But _someone_ had to if they were her true love.

"I should let you go," Rachel said as they awkwardly looked at each other. "Have a good day."

"Later," Artie said as he turned around and began wheeling away.

Rachel sighed as she watched him retreat down the hall. When she glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had witnessed, Mike was walking toward her. Even though he was permanently off her list, she smiled at him and said, "Hello."

Mike paused for a moment and then began quickly walking, passing by her without greeting or even looking at her. Rachel put her hands on her hips with a huff and frowned to herself. This was beginning to get humiliating. Most of the guys were already looking at her like she was crazy, and now Mike wouldn't even talk to her. At this rate, Kurt would be the only male in Glee who would be still be talking to her by the end of the week.

"Hello, Rachel."

Rachel shuddered slightly at the sound of Jacob Ben Israel's voice. She had no idea where he'd come from, but when she turned around, he was leaning against a locker and leering at her.

"Hello," Rachel greeting, but with less warmth than normal.

"I saw your performance in the courtyard," he said, walking toward her. "You were enchanting."

"Thank you," Rachel stiffly replied.

"I hear the Glee Club is looking to fill their ranks," he said, stopped entirely too close for Rachel's comfort. "I wish to offer you my services."

Rachel opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She was desperate to get one more member so there would be no doubt that they'd be eligible for Sectionals, but the thought of Jacob Ben Israel being in Glee Club made her skin crawl. And—Rachel's eyes widened—would that mean he could possibly be her true love?

"Actually, we just found our twelfth member," Rachel quickly lied.

"They say thirteen is lucky," Jacob said, waggling his eyebrows.

"On the contrary, thirteen is considered unlucky," Rachel replied. "Some buildings have been known to skip the thirteenth floor for that very reason. Similarly, there is a belief in show choir that any performance with thirteen people will go wrong."

It was a complete lie, but she knew he wouldn't know that. As much as they needed a new member, she was not going to let it be him. Not only was he creepy, but she knew he couldn't sing or dance. He had joined them briefly the previous year when Finn had abandoned them, but Finn had thankfully come back just in time to perform, so Jacob never made it onto the stage with them.

"Maybe you and I can have a little club of our own," Jacob said, completely undeterred. "One where we can make sweet, sweet—"

"I'm afraid I have to go!" Rachel said, interrupting him before he could say something that would make her completely lose her appetite.

"Are you sure you have to?" Jacob asked.

"Very," Rachel replied, turning on her heel, and quickly walking down the hallway.

As she made her way to the cafeteria, she really hoped Jacob didn't go to any of the rest of the Glee Club members. She knew she could talk to Kurt and he would back her up, but none of the rest of them would understand.

* * *

><p>The final bell rang and Rachel began packing up her things with a sigh. She couldn't believe another day was over and she was in the exact same position as she was Monday morning. She was used to getting the things she wanted when she put her mind to it, but this week was just not going her way. She was starting to get incredibly frustrated with everything, and she didn't really hear a word during class because she was too focused on everything else.<p>

She looked at her notebook as she picked it up, and then closed it with a huff. She sat in class trying to come up with ideas of how she could find out the identity of her true love, but the page was still blank by the end of class. She didn't know why she was unable to come up with a plan, and that was only adding to her frustration.

Why couldn't the fortune teller been more specific? She could at least given her some kind of hint. All she knew was that they were in Glee Club, and that wasn't enough. And how was she ever going to find out who it was when almost no one would even speak with her? She thought it was going to be so easy, but it was quickly becoming one of the biggest challenges she'd faced in a long time.

When she left the classroom, she made a quick stop by her locker to grab the book she needed for her homework, and then weaved her way through the crowds to the front door. Her Daddy was supposed to pick her up on the way home from work, so she knew she was going to have to wait. It was one of the few times she missed dating Finn: he always drove her home, so she didn't have to wait on anyone to pick her up at the end of the day.

As she was looking around for a place to sit, she saw Puck walking across the parking lot. Even though it had been a disaster every time she tried to talk to him, she immediately abandoned her search for a seat and quickly began walking in his direction. Thankfully, he wasn't walking very fast or she would never get to him before he was gone, but she quickly closed the distance between them, getting to him just as he reached his car.

"Hello, Noah," she greeted, slightly out of breath, but trying not to sound like it.

"What do you want?" Puck asked.

Unfortunately, she hadn't really thought that far in advance. She was too focused on getting to him that she hadn't thought of anything to actually say to him beyond hello. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to come up with something to say to him.

"I wanted to know—if anyone's approached you about joining the Glee Club," Rachel lied.

"No," Puck answered.

"That's too bad," Rachel replied. "I was really hoping our performance today would acquire us a twelfth member."

"Did you really think some lame performance is going to make someone join?" Puck asked. "You have to do something badass if you want people to notice."

"Well, I'm certainly open for suggestions," Rachel said. "If you would like to do a duet—"

"Dude, I'm not gonna sing with you," Puck interrupted.

"If you have a better idea—"

"I do," Puck said, cutting her off. "I'm leaving."

"But—" Rachel sighed, knowing defeat when she saw it, and she took a step away from Puck's truck. He opened the door and got in without so much of a glance in her direction. While it was disappointing, it wasn't at all surprising.

"Didn't I tell you you should stay away from Puck?"

Rachel sighed deeply and then turned around to face Quinn. "We were only talking about how to get more members for Glee Club."

"Puck doesn't care about Glee," Quinn replied.

"Maybe not, but I do, and I thought it would be beneficial to get a different opinion," Rachel stated.

Quinn almost looked amused, but she had an intense look in her eyes at the same time. "I told you, Rachel, you're a horrible liar." Quinn shook her head. "I know that he's popular, but he uses girls, and he'll do the exact same to you. Everyone knows you want to get out of Lima and be a Broadway star. Don't let him ruin that, which he will if you let him."

"Forgive me, but I don't believe you have my best interest at heart," Rachel replied. "If you want Noah, all you have to do is tell me. I won't judge you for it."

Quinn rolled her eyes and said, "He's the last person on earth I want."

"Then why are you so concerned that I was talking to him?" Rachel asked. "Why do you care if he ruins everything for me?"

"Who said I care?" Quinn asked.

"You must if you're trying so hard to keep me away from him," Rachel retorted.

She thought Quinn would argue with her and possibly resort back to calling her names, but the blonde just looked at her for a moment before silently walking away. Rachel had no idea why Quinn had been acting so oddly lately, but there was definitely something strange going on with her. Part of her wanted to call out to Quinn and stop her from leaving, but the other part of her knew it would probably be best to just let her walk away.

* * *

><p><strong>The song I used was You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**pugetsound: I'm happy someone caught the reference.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

As Rachel put in her locker combination, she stifled a yawn. She had been up half the night, unable to sleep because her mind was racing with everything that'd happened in the past week. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she had become, causing her to toss and turn for hours. One thing started to become very clear early in the morning, though: Sam was really her only option.

The fortune teller had told her it wasn't Finn, so if she was right about her true love being in Glee, she would obviously be right about it not being her ex-boyfriend. Mike was taken, and she wasn't do anything to sabotage his relationship with Tina. Puck and Artie were both single, but they were both completely uninterested in even talking to her, so she doubted it was either of them. Kurt may be her friend soul mate, but considering he was only interested in men, he was obviously not her true love. That only left her with Sam.

While he wasn't particularly her type, he did seem sweet and he wasn't completely averse to having a conversation with her. Unfortunately, she just didn't feel any sort of romantic spark between them. Of course, she hadn't really gotten a chance to know him _that_ well, so maybe she would feel differently if she did.

After grabbing her textbook, she shoved it in her bag and closed her locker. When she turned around, she saw Sam just down the hallway talking to two Cheerios. She had planned on talking to him that morning, but she didn't want to interrupt his conversation. So, instead of walking over to Sam, she began walking to her first class even though there was still plenty of time before the bell was going to ring. She didn't like staying in the hallway when she didn't have to, though; she was often a target for slushies, and she didn't like giving them the opportunity.

She slowed slightly as she walked by Sam, furrowing her brows. She had no idea what he was talking about, but whatever it was, he was saying it in a terrible Scottish accent. Or at least she thought it was a Scottish accent; it was really hard to tell. He seemed as if he was doing an impression of someone, but she wasn't sure who. Judging by the look on the two Cheerios' faces, they didn't really know what he was referring to, either.

"Hey, Rachel," Sam greeted when he noticed her walking by.

"Hello, Sam," she replied.

One of the Cheerios looked at her with what could only be described as disgust. Rachel squared her shoulders and stood a little straighter, but otherwise ignored it. She was used to the popular kids looking down on her, so it wasn't the first time she'd received such a look and she doubted it would be the last.

"We were talking here," the other Cheerio said, rolling her eyes at Rachel.

"And Sam said hello, so it would be rude of me to ignore him," Rachel replied.

"His mistake," the Cheerio said, her lip curling slightly.

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, looking a little confused. Judging by the look on his face, Rachel could tell he still wasn't aware just how unpopular she was with the jocks and cheerleaders. She wondered if he would have spoken to her in public if he knew or if he would treat her like so many others did.

"Can't we all get along?" Sam said, bringing back his Scottish accent.

"Why are you using an accent?" Rachel wondered.

Sam shrugged. "I like doing impressions."

"May I ask who you're doing an impression of?" Rachel asked.

"Sean Connery," Sam said, sounding a little too excited.

"Oh," Rachel replied. "It's—very good."

She didn't really know what else to say; it was far from good—it was a terrible impression, actually—but she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"Thank you," he said

"Who's Sean Connery?" one of the Cheerios asked.

Sam scoffed. "You don't know who Sean Connery is?"

"I'm going to head to class," Rachel quickly said before he could begin explaining it to the girl.

As she walked away, she could hear him begin talking to the Cheerios about Sean Connery. She shook her head, sighing; she'd hoped getting to know him a little better would create some spark between them, but now she was even less attracted to him. He still seemed perfectly nice, but she already dated one boy who was immature, and she really didn't want to do that again. She wanted someone who could challenge her and have similar interests, not someone who was probably going to play video games all day and do random impressions.

Just as she was about to enter her classroom, she bumped her shoulder into someone, too lost in thought to see the girl coming her way. An apology was about to leave her mouth when she looked up and saw that it was Santana that she had run into. She wasn't surprised, though; nothing about that week was going her way.

"I apologize," Rachel said. "I should have been paying more attention."

"You best—"

"We're going to be late," Quinn, who was standing next to the Cheerio, interrupted.

"Do you think I care about being late for class?" Santana asked.

"No, but I do," Quinn stated. "Couch Sylvester wants to see us _both_ before the first bell, and I'm not waiting on you. You can be the one to explain how you were too busy threatening someone to go to her office. I'm sure she'll understand."

Santana rolled her eyes at the sarcasm and then turned to Rachel. "It's your lucky day, dwarf."

She hit her shoulder into Rachel's as she walked by, but considering it was Santana, Rachel expected nothing less. As the Cheerio walked away, Rachel glanced at Quinn and said, "Thank you. I know it wasn't your intention to spare me from Santana, but thank you nevertheless."

"You don't have to thank me," Quinn said.

"I know," Rachel replied, giving Quinn a small smile.

* * *

><p>Rachel sighed as she sat down across from Kurt at the lunch table. He looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows, looking slightly concerned. No one else at the table seemed to notice, though, which wasn't really surprising. Some of them may be her friends now, but they rarely ever inquired about her wellbeing. Normally it was something she wanted—having friends that she could talk to when things were bothering her—but today she was thankful for it. She didn't want to talk about this with any of them.<p>

"What's wrong with you?" Kurt asked.

"Nothing," Rachel lied.

"Rachel, Sweetie, You're a terrible liar," Kurt stated.

Rachel huffed. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true," Kurt replied.

"Fine, maybe there is something wrong, but I'd rather not talk about it here," Rachel whispered, glancing at the rest of the table's inhabitants.

"Is this about the fortune—"

"Shh," Rachel interrupted.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Is this about the thing you were told last Friday?"

"Yes," Rachel answered.

"And?" Kurt asked.

"As I said, I don't want to talk about it here," Rachel said, seeing out of the corner of her eye that Tina was glancing at her, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Come on," Kurt said, standing from his seat.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asked.

"Somewhere where you do want to talk about it," Kurt replied.

"Where're you two going?" Mercedes asked.

"The choir room," Kurt answered. "Rachel wants to discuss how we can get more members since yesterday's performance didn't work."

"You don't know that," Mercedes said. "Someone could show up to Glee today."

"Maybe, but one should always be prepared for the worst case scenario," Rachel replied, going along with Kurt's lie.

Mercedes shrugged and Kurt offered his arm to Rachel. She looped her arm around his and he began guiding her toward the cafeteria doors. As they walked, she looked over her shoulder and saw that Tina was still watching them, looking suspicious. Apparently she hadn't forgotten about their conversation, though she hadn't brought it up again.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Kurt asked as soon as they walked into the hallway.

"Nothing is really wrong," Rachel replied. "I'm just—I'm frustrated. This isn't going at all how I thought it would. I thought I would have everything figured out in a couple of days, but I'm no closer than I was when this all began." Rachel sighed. "You know how I hate failing at things, and I feel like I'm failing at this."

"What's the rush?" Kurt asked. "You have all the time in the world."

"Maybe, but I'm tired of feeling alone," Rachel said. "And I'm a curious person by nature, so I have to know who it is." She looked at her friend. "If it was you, wouldn't you want to know immediately?"

"Fine, yes," Kurt replied.

"I've crossed everyone off my list multiple times," Rachel said as they walked into the choir room. "I thought I had it narrowed down to Sam, but after this morning, I just don't think it's him. Really, I don't see how it could be any of them, and I'm beginning to wonder if the fortune teller could be a fraud."

Kurt's eyebrows rose. "I thought you were certain she was real."

"I was, but now I'm not so sure," Rachel admitted. "I mean, it shouldn't be this hard, should it?"

Kurt shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Rachel sighed. "What do you think?"

"I think I didn't believe any of this to begin with," Kurt replied.

"I know, but how did she know about my phone?" Rachel asked. "She knew it was missing and that I would get it back on Monday. That's an awfully big coincidence for someone who doesn't have clairvoyant abilities."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Kurt asked.

Rachel paused and then said, "I don't know."

She had been so convinced that the psychic was real, but ever since that morning, she'd begun to doubt it. Sam was her last hope, but now that he was crossed off her list once again, she couldn't help but question whether or not it was all a scam to get her money. She just wanted to believe it so badly. She wanted to believe there really was someone out there for her who would support her and love her for who she was. She hadn't had that with Finn—or anyone, really—and it was something she often longed for.

"Even if it's not true, it won't be the end of the world," Kurt said. "It doesn't mean you won't find your true love one day. You will; we both will. Maybe just not in a small, close-minded town like this one."

Rachel walked over to the piano bench, smoothing her skirt down as she sat. "I don't know whether to give up or to continue trying. I've already spent so much time and energy and I feel as if I've gotten nowhere." She glanced at Kurt. "I may have also turned down someone who wanted to join Glee Club."

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked.

"Jacob Ben Israel approached me about joining and I told him we had already acquired a twelfth member," Rachel replied. "I didn't want to risk him being my true love."

"Well, that I can understand," Kurt said with a light shrug.

Rachel sighed. "This week has certainly not gone my way."

"No," Kurt agreed. "And don't mention the Jacob thing to anyone else or your week will probably get even worse."

"I wasn't planning to," Rachel replied before pausing for a moment. "Maybe we should discuss how to get another member. I'll feel terrible if we're unable to compete at Sectionals because of my lie."

"What do you have in mind?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "It's not as if any of my plans this week are going—well, according to plan."

* * *

><p>Rachel only had two more classes and Glee Club until she was free for the weekend, and she couldn't be more grateful. Nothing had gone her way all week and it felt like time had been going at half pace. Not to mention that it was only the second week of school, and she was already getting behind in class.<p>

Much of her evenings had been spent pondering what the psychic had told her, which left little room to do her schoolwork. Thankfully, she hadn't had a lot of actual homework, but she always read ahead for class, and she hadn't found the time to do it that week. Now, she had two weeks' worth of reading to do or she would continue to be behind all year.

Rachel was almost to her next class when it hit her; she didn't even see Santana coming until it was too late. She barely managed to close her eyes when the cold, red slushy struck her right in the face and everyone in the hallway began laughing. Someone once asked her what it was like, and the best description she could come up with was that it was like being punched, and no matter times it happened to her, it always managed to take her breath away.

"You didn't think I'd forget about earlier, did you?" Santana asked as Rachel began removing the ice from her face.

Rachel didn't respond. Instead, she ran her hand through her hair, knocking chunks of the slushy onto the floor, which was going to be stained red if someone didn't clean it quickly. While most of it had hit her, there was quite a pool of it on the floor, and even more was dripping off her clothes. Unfortunately, a lot of it was also soaking into her clothes, causing her to shake slightly from the coldness of it, though she tried not to show it.

Santana was still looking at her, so Rachel squared her shoulders. She wasn't going to let the other girl know how humiliating it was or show her any sign that it bothered her. Instead, she lifted her chin a little higher and began walking toward the nearest bathroom, careful not to slip. It was bad enough that she was covered in slushy; she didn't want to give everyone another reason to laugh at her.

When she walked into the bathroom, she immediately grabbed a handful of paper towels and headed for the sink. She would have to go to her locker to get a change of clothes, but she would rather not be quite so noticeable when she did so. And right now she looked like a drowned rat.

As she began running some of the paper towels under the water, she heard one of the stall doors open. When she looked up into the mirror, her eyes immediately locked with Quinn's. Sighing, she looked down again, hoping the blonde would just leave and not make her feel even worse than she already did. Thankfully, she heard the faucet turn on next to her a few moments later and Quinn silently washed her hands as Rachel began wiping some of the dye laden drink from her face. After a few more moments, the water turned off, and she heard the sound of paper towels being pull from their dispenser.

"So, who did it?" Quinn asked.

"Why do you care?" Rachel asked back, looking over at her.

Quinn shrugged and said, "Who says I do?"

Rachel sighed softly and began running some water over another paper towel. "Santana, of course."

Rachel heard the door open a few seconds later, and when she looked over, Quinn was gone. With a slight frown, she looked into the mirror at herself. She never really expected Quinn to help, but the fact that she just left her there covered in slushy hurt, nevertheless. She knew it was because a part of her still hoped she and Quinn could become friends one day, and it hurt every time the blonde passed by an opportunity to show that she cared even a little bit.

As she was trying to soak up some of the moisture from her sweater, the door opened again, and she looked up to find Tina and Kurt walking in. Kurt tilted his head to the side when he saw her, giving her a pitying look, and Tina shook her head, walking over to grab some more paper towels from the dispenser.

"How did you know I was in here?" Rachel asked as Tina handed her the paper towels.

"Quinn," Tina answered.

"She told you?" Rachel asked in surprise.

"We overheard her telling Brittany," Kurt said, walking up to her other side.

"And we thought we would see if we could help," Tina added.

"A change of clothes would be nice," Rachel replied.

"Do you have any in your locker?" Kurt asked.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"I'll get them for you," Tina volunteered. "What's your combination?"

"26-5-13," Rachel answered. "Thank you, Tina."

"I'll be right back," Tina said as she turned and hurried out of the bathroom.

"You almost made it two whole weeks," Kurt commented, lifting her sleeve with a look of disgust on his face. "However, I can't say ruining that sweater is a huge loss."

"Very funny," Rachel said in annoyance.

"I'm just saying that sweater is not the most flattering," Kurt replied. "You have much better than that, and you're lucky it wasn't one of them."

"Lucky would be not getting hit with a slushy at all," Rachel remarked.

"True," Kurt agreed.

Rachel tossed a wad of wet paper towels toward the trash can, sighing when she missed it by a foot. "This is the perfect end to the perfect week."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie," Kurt said, moving to put his arm around her, but obviously thinking better of it and patting her shoulder, instead.

* * *

><p>"That was amazing!" Mr. Schue said with a slight laugh as he continued to clap.<p>

Rachel didn't necessarily agree, but she clapped, nonetheless. Finn and Puck's performance left a lot to be desired—their dancing had been horrendous, in her opinion—but she was always happy to see people taking the initiative to perform. And despite the terrible dancing, she had to admit that it was a fun performance.

"Alright, guys, we've had some wonderful performances this week!" their teacher excitedly said. "We still need to work on getting some others to join us, but it's only the second week, so we still have plenty of time. Keep working hard and I'll see you all on Monday!"

As soon as the words were out of Mr. Schue's mouth, Rachel hurriedly began picking up her things. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, not only because it had been a terrible week, but because there was somewhere she needed to go before going home.

"Where are you running off to?" Kurt asked, standing up, and picking his back up from the floor.

"I'm going to Mystic Threads," Rachel replied. "I need speak to the woman again."

"You're going to pay her again?" Kurt asked. "I thought we finally agreed she was a fraud."

"Maybe she is, but I have to talk to her," Rachel stated. "I have to have answers, and she's the only one who can give them to me."

"Or she's going to lie to you again and you'll be out another twenty dollars," Kurt replied.

"Forty," Rachel corrected.

"Forty dollars!?" Kurt said.

Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes. "May I remind you that it was your idea. I wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't talked me into seeing her in the first place."

"Fine, it's my fault, but that doesn't mean you should go back," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"I told you, I need answers," Rachel replied.

She needed to know if the fortune teller was true or if she was a fraud who was simply in it for the money. She'd been going crazy all week trying to find her true love, and she needed to know if it had all been for nothing. And if the fortune teller was right about everything, maybe she would at least give her a hint, because she desperately needed one.

"I'm coming with you," Kurt said after a few moments.

Rachel shook her head. "If you don't mind, I would rather go alone this time. I would rather not risk her overhearing us talking; I don't want to give her an opportunity to learn anything more about me. I want to know what she's saying is real and not a guess based on something she overheard."

"What are you two talking about over there?" Mercedes asked, and Rachel looked over to find her eyeing them.

"What our plans are for the evening," Rachel answered.

"Speaking of this evening, do you guys want to catch a movie?" Mercedes asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't," Rachel said, glancing at Kurt. "I have a few errands I need to run, and then I need to catch up on a bit of reading. I'm afraid I've fallen behind."

"Rachel may be boring, but I'm completely free," Kurt replied.

"There's nothing boring about wanting to do well in school," Rachel argued with a huff.

"Girl, that's the definition of boring," Mercedes said.

"Be that as it may, it's something that needs to be done," Rachel replied.

"I want to hear everything, so call me after you," Kurt glanced at Mercedes, "do you homework."

"I will," Rachel promised.

"What's so interesting about homework?" Mercedes asked.

Rachel gave Kurt a small smile as she pulled her bag up further onto her shoulder. She then grabbed her bag of slushy covered clothing and headed out of the choir room, not wanting to waste any more time.

* * *

><p>As soon as the boutique was in sight, Rachel sped up until she was briskly walking, but not quite running. She walked the whole way there, texting her father as she left the high school to let him know she was going to be going someone and that she didn't need him to pick her up. He'd offered to drive her wherever she wanted to go, but she felt like she needed to do this herself. If he had gone, he would have talked to her, and as she told Kurt, she didn't want to risk the fortune teller overhearing anything.<p>

When she was across the street from the shop, she briefly paused before darting across the street. One car came to a screeching halt, and the driver honked at her while giving her a less than friendly gesture, but Rachel paid no attention to him, barely registering that it had even happened. She was too focused on getting to the boutique and finally getting answers.

As she hurried into the building, the bell jangled above her head. Behind the counter was the same woman from last time, who smiled at her and said, "Hello, again."

"Is the fortune teller here?" Rachel asked, slightly out of breath from the walk.

"She's with someone at the moment, but she should be free soon," the woman said, but Rachel was already walking toward the back before the sentence was out of her mouth.

Rachel weaved her way between the racks of clothes until she found herself standing in front of the colorful curtain for a second time. She could hear two voices behind it, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Not that she really cared; she was there for one reason, and that was to get the answers to her questions. It didn't matter to her what the fortune teller was telling other people; it only mattered what she told _her_.

A few minutes had passed and Rachel was becoming anxious, so she began pacing to let off some of her nervous energy. She hadn't been nervous on the way, but now the longer she stood there, the quicker her heart seemed to beat. It hadn't been until the middle of Glee that she'd decided to go see the fortune teller again, so she hadn't had a lot of time to think about it. Now that she was there, however, it was all she had to think about. What if the fortune teller wouldn't tell her anything else? What would she do then? Or what if the woman did tell her and she didn't like the answer?

While she was pacing, the curtain opened and an older woman in a long skirt came out, thanking the fortune teller. Rachel waited impatiently, watching as they exchanged more pleasantries. She wanted to tell the woman to hurry up, but she also didn't want to be rude, so she continued standing there, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

As soon as the older woman had turned to leave, the fortune teller glanced at Rachel and gave her smile. "Back again?"

"Yes," Rachel replied. "I have a few questions and I need answers to them."

"Come in," the fortune teller said, motioning toward the open curtain.

Rachel ducked her head slightly and walked in. The room was exactly as it was last time, except there were tarot cards on the table. The fortune teller breezed past her and gathered them up before picking up her crystal ball from a side table and putting it in the center of the larger table in the middle of the small room.

"You said you have questions," the fortune teller said as she sat down.

"I know you said you couldn't tell me anything else, but I can't accept that," Rachel said, sitting across from the woman. "All week I've been going through my options, and I don't believe any of them is my true love. You said it was a new love, so it wasn't Finn, Mike is in a relationship and runs every time he sees me, Puck and Artie are obviously uninterested in me, and Sam, however nice he is, simply isn't my type.

"I've made a fool of myself more times than I can count, everyone thinks I'm being completely weird, and I'm no closer to figuring out who it is. So, I need to you to tell me who it is, or if you were—" Rachel paused, not wanting to insult the woman, "wrong, I need you to tell me now."

The fortune teller smiled at her in a way that made Rachel feel like she was missing something. "You've gone through all your options?"

"Yes!" Rachel replied.

"It's someone who cares about you even when you don't see it," the fortune teller said.

Rachel furrowed her brows. "Really?"

"How do you think you got your phone back?" the woman asked. "She may not know how to show it, but she's cared about you for a while."

Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times before finally asking, "She?"

"She," the fortune teller repeated. "I never said it was a man; I'm afraid you've been looking at the wrong people."

Rachel stared at the fortune teller, trying to determine if she telling the truth or if she just didn't want to admit she was a fraud. She couldn't see any sign that the woman was lying, but she wasn't always the best judge. Like the time she trusted Finn when he said he didn't sleep with Santana, but she later found out that was a lie.

"You don't believe me?" the fortune teller asked, almost sounding amused by it.

"Should I?" Rachel asked.

"I know you've been hurt a lot—high schoolers can be cruel—but that's not a reason to lose faith in people," the fortune teller stated. "I think your fathers would tell you the same thing."

Rachel glanced away, nodding. "You're right; they would." She looked back at the fortune teller as she reached for her bag. "It was forty dollars, right?"

"This time is on the house," the fortune teller replied before giving her a smile. "Good luck."

* * *

><p><strong>The last chapter should be up next Tuesday.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Final chapter…**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Rachel stared down at the William McKinley High School yearbook, which was opened to the Glee Club's page. She still wasn't sure why Coach Sylvester ever relented and let them have a page, but there they all were. They all looked so happy in the picture, though she knew many of them didn't want to be in it to begin with. It had only been a year since the picture was taken—not even a year, really—but everyone looked so much younger to her. She didn't know if it was because they were all still so optimistic about their chances of winning Regionals or if they really had just changed that much in the past year.

As she looked at each and every face, she couldn't help thinking everything they'd been through together. They didn't always get along, but they were a family. A very dysfunctional family, but a family, nevertheless. She didn't know if the rest of them felt the same way, but something told her they did. Even Santana had once admitted to Glee being her favorite thing about school.

She had spent the past week trying to figure out which guy was her true love, but now that she knew it was one of the girls, it changed everything. She'd always known she had been attracted to both sexes, but she had never acted on those impulses before. With her two fathers and being Jewish, she had always been different by Lima standards, and she didn't want to give the student body even more ammunition against her. Plus, it had never really come up. If anyone had asked her if she was bisexual, she wouldn't have lied, but it wasn't something anyone had ever asked her.

Now, though, that was all going to change. She wasn't necessarily scared, but she did wonder how certain people were going to react. Especially Finn, who had been her only serious relationship. She knew he probably wouldn't understand, which was one of the reasons she didn't tell him while they were dating. She just hoped everyone else would be understanding and not make such a big deal about it. She also hoped Kurt wouldn't be upset with her for not telling him.

Her phone buzzed next to her once again and she looked at it with a sigh. Kurt had been texting her since the previous evening, but other than a message letting him know she'd talk to him later, she hadn't replied. Even though she'd promised to tell him everything, after going to the fortune teller, she had gone directly home. She wasn't trying to shut him out, but she needed to get her own thoughts together before answering a million questions from her friend.

And every thought she had went back to the picture in front of her. She'd been staring at it for hours as she wondered what she was going to do now. She had no idea where to even start. Other than her, there were five girls in Glee Club, and every one of them seemed just as unlikely as the next.

The only two who could even seem to stand her were both straight, or at least they were as far as she knew. Mercedes was single, but she had never given any indication that she was attracted to girls, so Rachel really didn't think it could be her. Rachel sometimes wondered about Tina, but even if she wasn't straight, she was in a relationship with Mike, and Rachel wasn't going to mess with their relationship. They were obviously happy together and she didn't want to ruin that.

Then there were the three who seemed as if Rachel's mere presence was an affront to them. She was fairly certain Brittany and Santana were not straight, but she was also pretty sure there was something going on between them, Even if she wanted to attempt to come between them, she feared Santana far too much to try. Then there was Quinn, who was probably the most civil to her out of the three—Brittany wasn't necessarily mean to her, but she couldn't really remember them ever talking— however, Rachel highly doubted she was harboring some secret crush on her.

What Rachel kept coming back to was something the fortune teller said. She had told her that it was someone who'd cared about her for a while. Honestly, though, Rachel couldn't imagine who it could possibly be. She may consider the Glee Club members her family, but she was certainly the black sheep of that family. Other than Kurt, no one seemed to show much concern for her, and even he was a little iffy sometimes.

If she could just figure out who had returned her phone, she would be able to figure out who her true love was. Of course, if the past week had taught her anything it was that things were often easier said than done. If she asked each of the girls if they'd returned her phone, would they even tell her the truth? The fortune teller said they didn't know how to show they cared, which made Rachel wonder if they would just lie if she asked. She figured it was probably worth a try, though; at any rate, it couldn't hurt anything. If they all said no, she would just be where she already was.

Her phone buzzed again, and she didn't have to look to know it was Kurt. His texts were coming more and more often, and he was obviously curious what the fortune teller had said to her. With a light sigh, she closed the yearbook and hopped off her bed to put the book back in its correct place. She then walked over to her closet to pick out something to wear, figuring it was finally time to put Kurt out of his misery and maybe get his perspective on things.

* * *

><p>Rachel could smell food coming from the kitchen as soon as she rounded the corner to the stairs. Her stomach gave a grumble at the delicious smell, so she quickly descended the stairs, heading for the kitchen. She'd intended on going straight to Kurt's, but she hadn't eaten yet, and she really didn't like starting her day on an empty stomach.<p>

When she walked into the kitchen, her Daddy was manning the stove while her other father was sitting at the island with a magazine in his hands. Leroy looked over his shoulder as she entered and said, "I hope you're in the mood for pancakes."

"It's after eleven," Rachel stated.

"Brunch," Leroy said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"There's fruit salad already in the refrigerator if you want it," Hiram said, nodding his head to it.

"Is there cantaloupe?" Rachel asked.

"Of course," Hiram replied. "What kind of father do you think I am?"

"The best," Rachel replied, giving him a smile.

"I'm the one slaving away over here," Leroy said, waving his spatula around. "He just peeled things."

"And cut them," Hiram added.

Rachel laughed lightly at her fathers as she walked over to the fridge. She opened the door and grabbed the large bowl from the shelf, carrying it over to the island to set it down. She then grabbed some plates from the cabinet and silverware from the drawer, setting them in front of the three stools. They always ate dinner at the table, but it had seemed to become a tradition to eat breakfast and lunch—and any meal between the two—at the kitchen island. She wasn't even sure how it started, but it was probably because they were often too impatient to make it to the dining room.

"This looks good," Hiram said, holding up the magazine for Leroy to see.

"You're hungry; everything looks good to you," Leroy remarked.

Hiram shrugged as he flipped the page. "This doesn't."

"What are you looking at?" Rachel asked, standing on her tippy toes to try to get a better look.

"A new cooking magazine," Hiram answered, showing her the front.

"So, what had you up so late?" Leroy asked from behind her.

"Oh—I was busy with schoolwork," Rachel replied.

It wasn't a complete lie; she had done some of her reading, but she'd also spent a significant portion of her time staring at her yearbook. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten nearly as much done as she'd hoped, but she still had the rest of the day and Sunday to complete everything. If she could focus, which had been an issue the night before.

"How's school going?" Leroy asked.

"Fine," Rachel said with a shrug.

"So you didn't get a slushy thrown at you yesterday?" Hiram asked.

"We saw your clothes in the dryer," Leroy added.

"I did, but so far it's not as bad as last year," Rachel replied. "And at least I have some friends this year. Mercedes and Tina were nice enough to help me yesterday, so I was able to get cleaned up quicker than usual, and I didn't have to make the embarrassing trip to my locker for a change of clothes. I'm not saying we're best friends, but I certainly think it's a step forward."

"Who did it this time?" Leroy asked.

"One of the Cheerios," Rachel answered.

"Was it that Satan girl?" Hiram asked

"Santana," Leroy corrected

"I think Satan is more fitting," Hiram replied.

"I have to agree with Dad," Rachel said as she took a seat next to him. "And, yes, it was Santana. I accidentally ran into her earlier in the day and she seemed to think that it deserved retaliation."

"Maybe Satan is more fitting," Leroy mumbled.

"It's unfortunate that it happened, but I do believe things are getting better," Rachel said. "Maybe not with everyone, but overall, I think things are improving."

"Speaking of school, how is the search for true love going?" Hiram asked. "I don't think you've said anything about it for a few days."

Rachel sighed. "It's—I'm still searching."

She usually confided in her fathers about everything, but that would be a much bigger conversation than she wanted to have right now. She knew they would want to talk about everything, which she wasn't prepared to do. She wasn't afraid they would be upset or anything considering, but the thought was still a little nerve-wracking, nevertheless.

"Well?" Leroy said. "Aren't you going to tell us about it?"

"There really isn't a lot to say," Rachel said, shrugging her shoulders as she began putting some of the fruit salad onto her plate. "I tried speaking with all the guys numerous times, but most of them won't even talk to me anymore. I think they're all suspicious of me at this point."

"Even the new kid?" Hiram asked.

"Sam, and he's the exception," Rachel replied.

"So, do you think it's him?" Leroy asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Sam's nice and admittedly cute, but there's no spark between us." Rachel shrugged. "I think he could make a great friend, but I'm simply not attracted to him."

"Do you have any inkling who it could be?" Hiram asked.

"I'm not sure," Rachel replied.

"I know you want to believe it, Honey, but maybe it's time to start thinking of the possibility that the woman doesn't have a gift," Leroy said. "Maybe she takes people's money and tells them what she thinks they want to hear."

Rachel shook her head again. "I'm not ready to give up quite yet."

"Don't be such a sourpuss," Hiram chastised.

"I just don't want our daughter spending all her time on something only to be disappointed in the end," Leroy said, looking at Hiram, and then looking at Rachel. "I hate seeing you get your hopes up and then things don't happen like you want them to."

"I'll be fine, Daddy," Rachel replied, spearing a piece of cantaloupe with her fork. "You don't have to worry about me."

"It's my job as a father to worry about you," Leroy stated, giving her a smile.

* * *

><p>Rachel knocked on Kurt's bedroom door and waited for him to answer. She'd hoped he would be the one to answer the front door, but it had been Carole who let her in. Things had gotten a little awkward when she began talking about how she missed seeing Rachel and Finn together, but the brunette quickly made her getaway when Burt called from the other room, asking who it was.<p>

Thankfully, Kurt didn't keep her waiting long. He opened the door after a a few moments, putting his hands on his hips when he saw that it was Rachel. She knew he was probably going to be slightly upset at being ignored all evening and morning, but she figured he would get over when she told him why. If there was anything to make Kurt forget that he was angry over something, it was a juicy piece of gossip, and she imagined this would qualify.

"Oh, you're alive," Kurt said. "I was beginning to wonder."

"I'm sorry, but I've been a little preoccupied," Rachel replied. "May I come in?"

"That depends," Kurt said.

"On what?" Rachel asked.

"Are you here to tell me what happened yesterday?" Kurt replied.

"Why else would I be here?" Rachel asked.

Kurt shrugged. "To apologize for saying you would call and then ignoring me."

"I think you'll forgive me once I explain," Rachel replied.

"Fine," Kurt said. "You may come in."

Rachel walked into his bedroom and Kurt closed the door behind them as she began descending the stairs. She stopped in the middle of his room and turned to watch him as he sat at his vanity and crossed his legs, giving her his full attention.

"Well?" he asked.

Rachel took a deep breath and then said, "I saw the fortune teller again yesterday."

"I know that part," Kurt replied.

"Will you let me tell the story?" Rachel asked with a huff.

"Sorry," Kurt said with a wave. "Please continue."

"I saw the fortune teller again yesterday," Rachel repeated. "The reason I didn't call yesterday is because I needed to think about what she told me before I told anyone else." Rachel took another deep breath. "Okay, I don't want you to be upset with me for not telling you this before, but if anyone should know how hard it is, it should be you."

"Rachel, what are you talking about?" Kurt asked.

"I'm not only interested in guys," Rachel carefully said. "I've also been known to be attracted to females."

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked.

"I'm not overly fond of labels, but if I had to put one on my sexuality, I would say I am bisexual," Rachel stated. "Yesterday the fortune teller told me my true love is one of the girls in Glee Club, not one of the guys. I believe you can understand why I needed some time before talking to you." She stared at Kurt for a few seconds. "Please say something; you're making me nervous."

"Rachel!" Kurt said, throwing his hands up as he stood. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"It's not easy," Rachel replied. "You, of all people, should know that. We live in Ohio, and I already have two fathers _and_ I'm Jewish. I simply didn't see a point in telling people unless it was relevant. And now it seems as if it is very relevant."

"I—" Kurt shook his head.

"I know it's probably rather shocking given how hung up I always was on Finn, and I understand that you may feel a little hurt right now, but I really need a friend at the moment," Rachel said.

Kurt sighed before nodding. "Okay, putting my shock aside, I do have one question. Why were you only looking at the guys if you're bisexual?"

"I just—I always assumed I would end up with a guy," Rachel replied. "Girls have never been very fond of me, after all. I don't even really have any female friends, so why would any of them ever want to be in a relationship with me? I just can't imagine who it could possibly be."

"Maybe you should focus on yourself instead of everyone else," Kurt said. "Who do you _want _it to be."

Rachel ducked her head. "I don't think that matters very much; I can assure you it is not her."

"What makes you think it's not her?" Kurt asked.

Rachel shook her head and said, "She's—she's just not—" Rachel sighed. "She isn't exactly my biggest fan. In fact, she's—"

"Oh my god," Kurt interrupted her, his eyes widening momentarily before his surprise morphed into looking like Christmas had come early. "You like Quinn, don't you?!"

Rachel could feel her cheeks reddening. "I may have had a small crush on her in the past and wouldn't be opposed if I were to find out the fortune was about her."

Kurt's eyebrow rose. "Meaning you like Quinn. Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You've both had this weird fixation with each other since you met."

"I wouldn't say I've had a weird fixation with her, but I will admit she's aesthetically pleasing," Rachel said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Only yo—"

"Wait," Rachel interrupted. "What do you mean we've _both_ had a weird fixation with each other? I mean, I know Quinn has always targeted me, but I wouldn't exactly call that a fixation. She usually just insults me, which—okay, she hasn't really been doing that as much lately, but she doesn't exactly go out of her way to talk to me. Well, a few times this week, but she was just trying to get me to stay away from Noah." She furrowed her brows. "I assumed it was because she wanted to rekindle her relationship with him, but she was adamant that that wasn't the reason. And she was there when I lost my phone. The only three people in the choir room when I left were you, Tina, and her. Was she still there when you left that day?"

"I think so," Kurt replied.

"So she easily could have picked up my phone while you and I were talking in the hall, so it was gone when I went back," Rachel said, looking away. "And she could have put it in my seat on Monday and then left, not wanting me to know it was her who returned it."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Kurt asked.

"It has to do with everything," Rachel replied. "Kurt, I think Quinn may have returned my phone."

* * *

><p>After she'd explained everything to Kurt, Rachel stopped by the Lima Bean on her way home, feeling as if she needed some caffeine to get through the rest of the day. Or at least if she wanted to be able to stay awake while reading her textbooks. She usually found them to be very dull, and combining that with not getting nearly as much sleep as usual and recent revelations, she knew she would never be able to focus.<p>

She was standing in line, waiting to give her order when she heard her name called. She looked over her shoulder but didn't see anyone she recognized, and then looked to her left. It took her a moment, but then she saw Sam wave at her from one of the tables. She gave him a smile as she waved back before stepping forward to place her order.

Since it was Saturday, the Lima Bean was much busier than usual, and the line was moving very slowly. The man in front of her was obviously displeased with how long his order was taking, but Rachel wasn't really in a hurry. She knew she had reading to do for her classes, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to doing it. So, when she finally had her drink in her hand, rather than go out to her car, she walked over to Sam's table.

"Hello, Sam," she greeted. "Are you having a good weekend?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess. It beats being in school, anyway."

"May I sit?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Sam said, sitting up straighter.

"I was a little surprised to see you here," Rachel commented. "I didn't figure you were the type to sit in coffee shops on the weekend."

Sam gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm actually meeting Finn and Puck here."

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed. "Oh? May I inquire what about?"

"They wanted to talk about me maybe training for a different position on the team." Sam replied. "I told them I'd hear 'em out. I think Finn's just afraid I'm going to take his place on team, but if it means I'll get to play—" Sam shrugged.

"In that case, I should probably go," Rachel said.

"We can hang out until they come," Sam replied.

"I would like that, but Finn's been a little—"

"Jealous?" Sam finished for her.

"Something like that," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, he told me you all dated," Sam said. "He grilled me about us getting coffee last week. He wanted to know if it was a date, and I told him no, but—was it a date?"

"I would call it a coffee date, but I don't know if I would call it a _date_ date," Rachel answered.

"That's perfect," Same replied. "I mean, you're cool, but—"

"There's no spark," Rachel supplied.

"Exactly!" Sam replied. "Friends?"

"I would like that," Rachel said with a nod just as she noticed Finn entering the building. "It looks like Finn is here. Do you mind if I speak to him for a moment?"

Sam shrugged and shook his head. "It's not like I have anything else to do today other than playing some video games."

"I'll you see you at school on Monday," Rachel said.

"Later," Sam replied with a little wave.

Rachel gave him a smile as she stood, and then turned, walking toward Finn. He stopped as soon as he saw her, furrowing his eyebrows slightly in that confused look he often got.

"Hey," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I would become caffeinated before tackling my homework," she said, holding up her coffee cup. "I saw Sam, so I went to say hello." She looked over her shoulder at Sam and then looked back at Finn. "I know you're here to talk to Sam, but do you have a moment?"

"Yeah," Finn replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something, anyway." He sighed as he stepped to the side, so they weren't in everyone's way. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sang that song the other day and put you on the spot like that. It wasn't cool."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Rachel said. "I just want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you last week. I know you still have feelings for me even if you did break up with me, but that doesn't mean I want to hurt you."

"I get it," Finn said, shaking his head. "You don't want to get back together."

"No, I don't" Rachel replied. "We had our chance, Finn. I think we both need to move on and find the people who are going to make us truly happy."

"It sucks that it's not each other," Finn said, glancing to the side. "So, are you gonna date Sam now?"

"No," Rachel answered. "Sam and I both think we would be much better off as friends. However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to date other people. Just not Sam."

"I can't promise I'll be happy about it, but I do want you to be happy," Finn said.

Rachel smiled at him. "Thank you, Finn."

"I can promise no more songs," Finn said, smiling back.

Rachel laughed lightly. "I appreciate that."

"I should get over there," Finn said. "Puck will be here any second."

Rachel nodded. "I'll see you at school."

"Yeah," Finn replied. "See you, Rach."

Rachel smiled to herself as she watched Finn walk over to Sam's table. Her week may not have been perfect, but at least she and Finn were now on good terms and she may have even acquired a new friend.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked out of the Lima Bean and headed toward her car with every intention of heading home and finally beginning her reading for class. Just as she was about to reach her car, though, she glanced across the street. Quinn was walking out of the bookstore with a bag in her hand, causing Rachel to falter. She'd planned on talking to Quinn at school on Monday, not expecting to see her any sooner, but there she was.<p>

Without even really thinking about it, she turned and started walking in Quinn's direction. She was completely unprepared to talk to her at the moment, but she knew she would regret it if she didn't go over. Really, though, she didn't know if she would ever be prepared to talk to her. Talking with Quinn was never easy, and now she had to try to confirm her belief that Quinn Fabray was the one the fortune teller was talking about. It still sounded crazy when she really thought about it, but at the same time, it didn't seem so crazy in some ways. She thought it would actually explain a lot of Quinn's behavior toward her and why she seemed to keep everyone at arm's length.

Rachel wondered if she was going to be able to catch Quinn before she got to her car, but the blonde slowed to a stop as she walked by a clothing store. Rachel quickly looked both ways before jogging across the road, trying not to spill her soy latte all over her hand. When she finally got to the other side of the road, she slowed her pace, not wanting to appear too crazed in case Quinn saw her approaching.

"Quinn, hello," Rachel said, trying to sound nonchalant.

The blonde glanced over her shoulder at Rachel and then looked back at the display in the window. Rachel didn't think she was going to say anything back, but after a few moments of silence she finally said, "Hey."

"Are you having a good weekend?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "Not really."

"Well—it's only half over," Rachel said. "Maybe the rest will be better."

Quinn looked over at her again. "I doubt it."

"I see you got some new books," Rachel said, pointing to the bag in Quinn's hand. "You could spend the rest of the weekend reading them. I'm sure that would be fun."

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked.

"Making conversation," Rachel replied with a shrug.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"I don't know," Rachel lied. "I saw you over here and thought I would come over."

Quinn averted her eyes from Rachel's, but didn't turn away. Her face was completely unreadable and Rachel wished she could know what was going on in Quinn's mind. It wasn't the first time she'd wished such a thing, either, and she doubted it would be the last. Quinn was almost never an easy person to read—only when she thought no one was watching her—and it was even more difficult any time her defenses went up, which seemed to be almost every time they spoke.

"May I ask you something?" Rachel asked.

Quinn sighed. "What?"

"Why were you so adamant about me staying away from Noah?" Rachel asked.

"I already told you why," Quinn replied.

"I know, but why do you care if he ruins my life?" Rachel asked. "For someone who appears to dislike me so much, I wouldn't think you would care if my dreams come true. You've made it very clear in the past that we're not friends, so why do you care?"

"You ask too many questions," Quinn stated.

Rachel couldn't help but smile. "I've been told that on more than one occasion. My fathers have even threatened to duct tape my mouth shut. They were joking, of course, but I'm sure they were tempted to do it while I was growing up. Now, are you going to answer my question?"

She looked at Quinn, who bit her bottom lip. It was clear that the line of questioning was making the other girl uncomfortable, which was probably not the best thing to do. It meant she would probably become defensive and Rachel didn't want her to completely close up. Right now, she was actually talking to her rather than ignoring her and walking away, and she didn't want that to change just because she pushed her too much.

"Okay, you obviously don't want to answer, so you don't have to, but will you answer another question?" Rachel asked

"That depends," Quinn replied.

"Were you the one who returned my phone?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Quinn answered after hesitating for a moment.

Rachel smiled. "Really?"

Quinn rolled her eyes again. "I saw it on the floor, so I picked it up."

"Why didn't you tell me you had it when I asked if you'd seen it?" Rachel wondered.

"Maybe I didn't want to have some long conversation about how I found it, and I knew you'd thank me a million times," Quinn replied.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Rachel said. "But, yes, I would have thanked you."

"I didn't need you to thank me," Quinn said before turning.

"Wait!" Rachel called out.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"What are you doing right now?" Rachel asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Quinn asked back as she turned around and raised her eyebrow.

"I just—well, I haven't had lunch yet and I thought I would see if you'd like to join me," Rachel said.

Rachel's heart had been pounding ever since Quinn confirmed she was the one who returned her phone and it only seemed to speed up as she waited for the blonde's answer. She wasn't really that hungry, but she didn't want to risk scaring Quinn away. She normally would have opted for asking her to grab some coffee, but since she had a Lima Bean cup in her hand, she didn't think it would work in this case.

"Okay," Quinn finally answered.

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Are you going to ask 'really' every time I answer you?" Quinn asked.

Rachel laughed lightly. "No. I just—" Rachel shook her head. "Forgive me; it's been a very strange week."

Quinn studied her for moment and then glanced away, asking, "So, where are we going?"

Rachel smiled to herself. Her week may not have turned out how she thought it would, but maybe this was better.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to everyone who has read and commented. I'm glad you all enjoyed this story. I was apprehensive about posting it and almost scrapped it halfway through writing it, but I'm happy I didn't.<strong>


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